top of page

Rural Counselor
Colloquium (virtual)

Tuesday April 28 & Thursday April 30, 2026

Colorado Western Slope high school counselors, please join us for a conversation, not a lecture. 

We invite you to our annual Rural Counselor Colloquium: Big Futures From Small Towns.  

We have a NEW 2-Day Format: Join for what fits your schedule — one day or both, one hour or all of it.

​

2026 Rural Counselor Colloquium (Virtual)-2.jpg

Who: Colorado Western Slope high school counselors and other educators. 

What: A conversation among college admissions officers, fellow counselors, and other experts.

When: Tuesday April 28, 9-11 AM & Thursday April 30, 9-11 AM

Where: From wherever you are! This virtual event offers flexibility.​

NEW Format: Join us for one or both days, join for an hour or two.

Big Futures From Small Towns

Tuesday April 28th, 9:00 a.m. — 11:00 a.m.

Day 1: Engaging All Students

Topics of conversation:

  • Get It Done - The “one-meeting student”

    • How to make that single visit count: a checklist they leave with, a deadline they commit to, a follow-up text they expect 

    • What admissions officers wish counselors would tell students in that one meeting!

  • Engaging All High School Teachers - Help with the Process 

    • You can't do it alone — so who else is in the building?

    • Ideas for other teachers to engage students: 

      • English 9 & 10: scholarship essays as a writing genre, personal narrative as a unit anchor

      • Math: FAFSA EFC calculations, loan interest as algebra, comparing offer letters as a real-world percentage problem

      • ESL/ELL classrooms: the college application as a high-stakes authentic writing task, vocabulary of higher ed embedded in instruction

      • Science & CTE teachers: connecting coursework to career pathways and program requirements

    • How to make the ask — a 10-minute faculty meeting pitch, a one-page "here's how you help" handout

    • What's working in other Western Slope schools right now — open discussion

  • Showcasing Different Pathways - Beyond the four-year residential myth

    • More trade schools, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, and military alongside four-year universities

    • How to talk about pathways without steering — honoring student and family goals while broadening the picture

    • Colorado Western Slope College Fair: Meet trade schools, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, and military alongside four-year universities

    • In-state gems students overlook 

    • Virtual campus visit strategies for rural students who can't travel

    • Alumni panels: recent grads on gap years, community college transfers, certifications —real voices, real outcomes

  • Money, Money, Money - From FAFSA to the finish line!

    • FAFSA completion campaigns that work

    • Reading and comparing offer letters side by side - teaching students and families the language

    • The art of the appeal: when to ask for more, how to ask, what to say - admissions officers share what works

    • Outside scholarships that are actually attainable for rural Colorado students

  • AI For Counselors - Stay ahead of the curve 

    • How AI tools can help manage the postsecondary counseling workload

    • Using AI to draft recommendation letters, , create FAQ documents for families, build resource guides, and more

  • Open Forum - More questions answered

Thursday April 30th,9:00 a.m. — 11:00 a.m.

Day 2: The Application Journey

Topics of conversation:

  • How many applications? List building with a dose of reality 

    • The Goldilocks framework: safety, match, reach - and why the middle is often neglected

    • How to talk a student out of 15 applications and talk another into more than 2

    • When geography, cost, and family proximity are on the list too

    • What admissions officers what you to understand about deferrals, waitlists, demonstrated interest, and more

  • Testing is Back? Navigating the new landscape with confidence 

    • Which colleges?

    • Within colleges, which departments?  

    • When to invest in test prep?  

    • When is it helpful to continue testing for scholarship applications?

    • Admissions officers perspective: How scores are used in holistic review

  • Curriculum to College - What counts, what doesn’t, and what colleges actually care about

    •  What colleges wish they could tell counselors directly about curriculum red flags and green lights

    • Dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, AP, IB, online, EPIC programs

    • How colleges evaluate non-traditional coursework on a transcript

  • Showcasing Rural Life - Essays and More: Turning “small town” into a compelling story!  

    • Your students’ rural identity is actually an asset in applications - How to help students see it that way

    • The additional information section is a rural student’s secret weapon!

    • Activities that don’t have a club or title: ranch work, caring for siblings, helping run a family business, multiple sports team member - how to frame these

    • Helping students write about place - the landscape, community, and values without it sounding like a tourism brochure

    • Letters from non-traditional recommenders: coaches, employers, community leaders - when and how to do this 

  •  More AI For Counselors - Stay ahead of the curve 

    • How to teach students to use AI as a thinking partner, not a ghostwriter — the distinction that matters to colleges

    • How colleges are currently using AI: application sorting, essay flagging, communication — what admissions officers can share candidly

    • Practical demonstration: live examples of prompting for counselor tasks

    • The ethics conversation you need to have with students before they start their applications

  • ​Open Forum - More questions answered

* Please note: the above page is password protected. If you are a counselor or educator and do not have the password, please contact us and we would be glad to share it with you! 

bottom of page