A growing group of admission officials, high school counselors, and college access professionals say rural students don't always have the same access to college as their counterparts in more urban areas. Given the barriers, those who advocate for rural students have developed a variety of ways they can be supported ranging from extra guidance from peers or others in their close-knit school and community, to early preparations to help them enthusiastically create a path to college and thrive when they attend. Changing both college recruitment strategies and the focus of high school counselors also might help. And addressing the cost of higher education at the local, state, and federal levels would potentially offer the biggest boost.