montana counselors
fall events & steps

deadline |  please submit your hs form by
friday, june 5, 2020.
Thank you!

mpseoc message

To:   Montana High School Counselors 
From:  Amy Leary, MPSEOC Executive Director
Re:  2020 Counselor Directory, College Fair Details, Online Form, COVID-19 Updates, etc.
​
On behalf of the Montana Post Secondary Educational Opportunities Council (MPSEOC), we want to extend our thanks to all Montana counselors for all your incredible work in helping students and education through this transitional time of COVID-19.  Please know we are here to help you in any way we can.  Thank you for all you do.  You are so valued.

It is the time of year where we begin to plan for several fall events.  With COVID-19, we want you to know that we are committed to still offering our usual fall events for the September College Fairs, Counselor Update, Guide Book To Higher Education, & more.  As we are all still unsure of what fall will bring, we are trying to plan for all potential options.  Therefore, we are asking you to confirm your details for the fall fairs in the event that we are able to still host in-person events.  Please know that safety is a priority to us in this, and we will only offer these events live if we are certain is a safe route for everyone.  We are also working on an alternative virtual program for these fairs in the event that live events are still restricted.  Either way, with a live event or a virtual event, we will use the same electronic registration process to keep things easy for you and your students.  Thank you for your understanding and team efforts in this, as we all learn together.  Please share any questions, concerns, thoughts you may have.  We are committed to keeping this service strong for students in whichever option is possible.  Thank you for helping plan for either option at this point.  We will keep in contact over the summer and early fall with final details. 

Please take a few brief moments to confirm the following details in order to ensure quality and cost-effectiveness for these events.  We ask that you act on the following items on or before June 5, 2020.  Thank you so much for all of your team help and efforts to help students together!

steps to take to prepare for fall

step 1  |  check your listing in the Counselor directory

Verify that the Contact Information for You & Your School Is Correct
We ask you to please verify your high school name, counselor name, mailing address, phone, e-mail, website, etc.  We will be publishing this information this coming fall 2020, so we want to make sure we have your information correct.  Other counselors, students, parents, college representatives, and many agencies use this directory throughout the year, so please help us keep it updated for you.  Please just let us know if you have questions or need additional help.  
​Thank you! 

step 2  |  check the college fair your High SChool is scheduled to attend

Check the College Fair Location & Date for which your school has been assigned in September.  If you wish to attend another college fair, please indicate as such on the online form in Step 3.  Please note that the time listed is the time duration for the entire fair.  The Fair Site Coordinator will contact you in the fall with the exact assigned time for your school.
*These live, in-person events are pending COVID-19 Restrictions.  We will keep you posted of updates throughout the summer and early fall.  Thank you!

step 3  |  SUBMIT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL final online FORM

Important FINAL Step! 
​In this ionline form, you will be able to confirm your fair location, make a change to your fair location, and confirm the number of registration promotion cards you need for your students.  This is a huge help and lets us know what you need for these fall events.  Thank you!

important updates & covid-19 resources

important updates

* OTHER IMPORTANT UPDATES LISTED BELOW.

covid-19 updates & resources

​With COVID-19 we are monitoring what will be a safe option for you, your students, and your school.  We are committed to still providing this service in either a live and/or virtual option.  Due to the timing of our fairs happening right after summer break, we would ask you to plan for live events.  In the event that we are unable to host live events, we will have alternative virtual options for you and your students to still gain value of these services and events.  Please check back on this page and our "Resources" page for updates throughout the summer.  We will also email your counselor email that we have on file in the Montana Counselor Directory with any updates too.  Please contact us with any questions you have @ amy.leary@montanacolleges.com  |  406.531.3531.  

Our very special thank you for your team efforts to help students together each year.  

other important updates & reminders

Student Online Registration for the Fairs
| New Updated System – Same for Live or Virtual Events


  • This year, we are excited and proud to announce that we have partnered with StriveScan to bring electronic student scanning to all of our fall 2020 college fairs.  StriveScan is trusted by more than 2,000 colleges and universities around the world. 
    1. StriveScan is the student scanning provider for college fairs around the country.
    2. StriveScan’s student registration process is easier and faster for students and does not require printing.
    3. The student registration website is now: www.StriveFair.com
    4. This is how they will request information from the colleges and sign-up for the scholarships.  This has been a great step because it has allows students to interact with the colleges instead of just filling out cards the entire time.  After the fair, students receive a report of all of the colleges with whom they scanned, along with the contact info of each representative. 
    5. Each fair host and invited schools will be able to monitor student registration in real-time. Fair reports will also be available shortly after the event which will include information on attendance, high school representation, and more.
  • Like in year’s past, the overall process is still the same and our hopes even easier for you and your students with this new system.  Your students will still NEED TO REGISTER ONLINE BEFORE THE FAIR and then have their bar code available on their mobile device or print their own bar code to be scanned at the fair.  In the fall, we will be sending you more details about this process. However, please let us know if you have any questions in the meantime.

New & Updated Tools for Students & Counselors to Prepare for the College Fairs  ​

  • This year we will have updated online tools for you and your students to prepare for the 2020 September College Fair in your area.  Therefore, your students will have the tools to research and prepare for the fairs beforehand and find helpful resources like:  Preview Attending College Profiles, Questions to Ask at the Fair, Checklists, College Comparison Worksheets, FAQ’s, etc.  We will be sending more information about these helpful tools to you in the fall.

Updated Interactive, Online Guide Book to Higher Education for Montana Students

  • Once again, we will be offering an interactive, online Guide Book for you, your students, and parents.  This fall your students (seniors, juniors, any younger students, and parents that would like to use this book) will have access to the 2020-2021 Guide Book at no cost.  Students and you will still be able to print specific pages or the whole book as needed from the online location.  We also will be creating several additional tools to help students prepare for the college fair.  Preparing students for the many, amazing options after high school is truly a team effort, and we are here to help you, help students.  Please share any additional ideas and/or feedback you have.  We sincerely appreciate your expertise, collaboration, and feedback!

fall counselor update  |  End of October - Early November - TBA

  • Once again, we are planning for this event in either a live and/or virtual option.  We know how important this event is for everyone in helping students together, so we are committed to offering this service in whatever way we are able to in the fall.  This event is usually the end of October/early November.  We will keep you updated with more details on this throughout the summer and early fall.  Please share any questions you may have in the meantime however.  Thank you for your team efforts on this great annual event!

​Thank you so much, Montana counselors! 
​You & your students are in our thoughts as this school year closes.  

PLEASE KNOW WE ARE HERE TO HELP IN ANY WAY WE CAN IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.   ​WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING BACK FROM YOU & CONNECTING WITH YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS IN THE FALL!

MORE QUESTIONS?
Please contact us @ Amy.Leary@MontanaColleges.com   |  406.531.3531

download the full

fall counselor packet