ANN ARBOR—If you or a member of your family has contemplated admission to college recently, you know how bewildering the range of American higher education can be. Imagine the difficulty of selecting the right program if you are 8,000 miles away and English is not your first language.

EducationUSA advisers are available in a worldwide network of 450 sites?at U.S. Embassy Public Affairs offices, Fulbright Commissions, local universities, and bi-national centers?to help international students learn about higher education in the United States.

From May 17-22, EducationUSA advisers will visit colleges and universities in Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In Michigan, they will visit the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Siena Heights University, Eastern Michigan University, and Washtenaw Community College.

UM’s International Admissions and Recruiting Coordinator Cindy Gould is directing the Michigan program. Advisers will tour the campuses, discuss the admissions process with campus officials, sample orientation and other programs available to international students and scholars, and meet faculty, students and staff to gain a picture of current trends and practices on American campuses. The advisers also will serve as resources to the institutions they visit, by reporting on their home-country educational systems, policies and academic training needs and will respond to American questions and concerns about international student admissions and orientation.

Last year, nearly 600,000 international students were enrolled in accredited U.S. higher education institutions, enhancing the diversity of our classrooms and communities while contributing to local economies and international balance of trade.

The U. S.-Based Training Program for Overseas Educational Advisers is supported financially by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, as amended. The program is administered by the College Board.

The College Board works with local higher education institutions to arrange campus visits for advisors at the four sites. These visits form the second component of a three-week professional training program which includes a stay in Washington, D.C., to meet with officials of agencies involved in international education, and ends with attendance at an international education conference to meet U.S. college and university administrators.