Academics

Colorado Rocky Mountain School offers a comprehensive college counseling program to guide students and parents through the complex process of applying for college. The primary goal is to help students identify colleges and universities that are the best match for their unique personalities, strengths, interests, and needs and to aid families with the application process. Through regular meetings with the college counselor and online resources, CRMS prepares its students to identify, apply, and matriculate to selective colleges and universities across the country.

Informally, the process begins when a student enters CRMS. The college counselor meets with all new students to provide a snapshot of the application process. Students are well informed about how to maximize their high school experience to best position themselves for the college application process. The college counselor also works closely with faculty advisors and deans as they help students choose appropriately challenging classes. Students begin working formally with the college counselor weekly during the second semester of their junior year. The college counselor discusses an overview of the college admissions process, criteria for choosing compatible schools, available materials and resources, testing, college visits, interviews, essays, and the application. The college counselor encourages students to reflect on their interests, talents, and goals and then research and explore the colleges that will foster those abilities and aspirations. Advice and guidance are provided during this self-evaluation. At CRMS, students must play the lead role throughout the college application process. It is, however, a collaborative effort among the counselor, advisors, students, and their families and CRMS encourages parents to play an active role. Conversations throughout the junior and senior years allow everyone to work together in the best interests of each student.

The college counselor meets with parents in the fall of the student’s senior year in group and individual informational sessions during Family Weekend and takes part in scheduled conferences throughout the year. Parents are provided with a weekly email update of student activities and are encouraged to communicate often with the college counseling office. Seniors are given a five-day period in October exclusively for college visitation. Parents and students also use a web-based college counseling program, Naviance, to keep abreast of the application process. The college counselor additionally serves as a liaison to college admission offices, promoting an understanding of the CRMS program.

In a progressively tighter college market, the college admission process is more complicated than ever. At CRMS, experience demonstrates that there are indeed programs for everyone, and the goal each year is to find the very best fit for each student academically, socially, athletically, geographically, and financially. Finding this fit is not always an easy process, often entailing hard work and even some rejection. One hundred percent of graduates are accepted to four-year colleges and universities, which explicitly validates the school’s efforts and college placement philosophy.