We recommend the full tour if you have not actively recruited in the region before, but you can select any of the cities along the way that meet your recruitment goals.

To make your trip a success, a bit of homework is to be done. Social media blurbs will help spread the word about your institution before you arrive.

Suggested topics for social media blurbs:

• Student life at the university. The more pictures the better.
• Where the institution is located. Tell more about the neighborhood.
• Ways to get involved on campus – student organizations, internships, sports, etc.
• How international is the institution? How many international students are on campus? Focus on students from Eurasia region, if possible.
• Support and resources offered by the university: Writing Center, Career Center, Health Center, etc.
• Possibility to explore different areas of study, to double-major, minor, double-minor, etc.
• Information on athletes and students from the countries where the fairs will be held.

You can send your social media blurbs after the registration.

EducationUSA’s mission is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries through educational and cultural exchange. EducationUSA works with all U.S. accredited HEIs and equally represents them all.  EducationUSA encourages students to look beyond rankings and consider a wide range of factors when considering which institutions to apply to in order to ensure the best fit for them. Your participation in our fairs is an important way for us to achieve this mission by showcasing the diversity of U.S. higher education and by connecting you to undiscovered talent in the region.

The Eurasia Tour takes you to nine countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine, and these annual events are the only U.S. only focused higher education fairs in the region.

On top of that in each city, you will meet EducationUSA advisers, who will not only organize successful fairs but also introduce you to their local cultures, brief you on the mobility and economic trends in their countries, provide opportunities for networking with local education partners, help to recruit in an area infrequently visited by U.S. higher education institutions, access diverse talent for their campuses, recruit future leaders of these countries. In Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan , St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vilnius, Tallinn, Riga, Minsk, Odesa, and Kyiv, you will meet students from diverse social and economic backgrounds with strong English language skills and interests in all fields and levels of study.

Due to the introduction of stricter personal data privacy laws in the region, EducationUSA is no longer able to share contact lists. U.S. higher education institution representatives will be responsible for collecting the necessary data to follow up with students after the fair.

We keep records of all registrations we receive for each particular fai and can give you an estimate of what we expect. This year expectations you can find in the profiles of your hosts in each city. Just click on the photo of an adviser and read an overview for each city.

It is not that difficult as it may seem at the beginning. General rules:

Flights

Flights are purchased by each fair participant. In the Terms and Conditions as well as in the Agenda you will find suggested flights, estimated cost for the ticket, and notes/special instructions.

Transfers

EducationUSA will arrange airport transfers in each city free of charge for representatives traveling on suggested flights and staying at the tour hotels, if travel itinerary is provided at least three weeks prior to the start of the fair tour. Representatives may be asked to share vehicles.

Visas

Armenia: U.S. citizens are not required to have a visa to enter Armenia for up to 180 days in one calendar year.

Azerbaijan: U.S. citizens are required to have a visa in order to enter Azerbaijan. You can apply for an electronic tourist visa via Victory Tour; details are on the company website, http://www.victorytour.az/?mod=content&id=314 – en. More information about visa requirements: http://www.azembassy.us/visa-service/tourist-visa.html. EducationUSA is not authorized by the Azerbaijani government to provide letters of invitation; your hotel reservation should suffice. NB: It is recommended to obtain a second U.S. passport and use one for entry to Armenia and the second for entry to Azerbaijan, in order to avoid delays or questioning particularly upon entry to Azerbaijan.

Georgia: U.S. citizens are not required to have a visa to enter Georgia as a tourist.

Russia: U.S. citizens are required to have a visa in order to enter the Russian Federation. For information, please see: www.russianembassy.org/page/general-visa-information. Representatives must travel on a business visa. Past fair participants have recommended Go to Russia (http://www.gotorussia.com/visa_services_russia_support.htm) or Travel Document Systems (http://www.traveldocs.com/?page=russian-federation). These agencies can provide invitation letters for business visas. EducationUSA is not authorized by the Russian government to provide letters of invitation.

Ukraine: U.S. citizens are not required to have a visa to enter Ukraine, for stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

The Baltics and Belarus: U.S. citizens do not need a visa to Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, or Belarus. For Belarus, there are specific conditions, which you can find here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Belarus.html (under entry, exit, and visa requirements).  Belarus team can provide more details as needed.

All hotel and flight recommendations will be included into the Guide, which will be sent to U.S. higher education representative. It is the fair participant’s responsibility to reserve the hotel (recommended if possible). The breakfast and WIFI will be included to the room price, however each fair participant should pay the lunch and dinner on their own, there is no host-lunch or dinner during fair. The airport pick-up and drop off, and transfer during high school visits will be provided by the EducationUSA center for those participants who choose recommended flights and hotels in each city. The bus for school visits will leave from the recommended hotel, so if you don’t stay at the recommended hotel you need to arrange your transfer between your and recommended hotel on your own.

It includes fair cost, airport pick up and drop off (if you stay at recommended hotel), transportation to school visits. Some cities will offer free tours with EducationUSA volunteers, please check the agendas.