Tech-Neill-ogy #131 - 19 April 2026

Your Weekly Guide to Leveraging Technology in College Counseling

Author

Jeffrey Neill
April 20, 2026

Sponsored by

Welcome to Tech-Neill-ogy #131!

It has been an interesting week. After a couple days in the office, I headed to Florence for a conference hosted by Marist University Florence for the Italian Counselors’ Group (ICG). I had the pleasure of presenting an introductory and advanced session on “How AI can support counsellors.” The sessions were fun to deliver. Now I’m off to visit Cattolica and Bocconi here in Milan before heading down to Rome for a handful of additional visits.

That said, enjoy the newsletter!

Are You Ready to Actually Retire?

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AI is getting better at your job, but you have time to adjust, according to MIT

AI may be 'minimally sufficient' at certain work tasks by 2029, according to new MIT research. An expert offers some advice on how to prepare.

ZDNET

AI Is Routine for College Students, Despite Campus Limits

A majority of U.S. college students use artificial intelligence in their coursework at least weekly, yet about half say their schools discourage or prohibit it.

Gallup.com • Gallup, Inc.

One High School Teacher's Strategy For Using AI to Enhance Learning

Kevin Hudson has encouraged his students to use AI in specific ways, and he’s seen their assignments improve as a result.

Tech & Learning

At 3 a.m., I Turned to AI for Comfort. That Was My First Mistake

The age of distraction has a cost: we’re forgetting how to be alone with ourselves

thewalrus.ca/at-3-a-m-i-turned-to-ai-for-comfort-that-was-my-first-mistake

How to use ChatGPT to write a cover letter (with prompts)

Here's how to use ChatGPT to write a cover letter. Plus, cover letter prompt examples to make your cover letter stand out to hiring managers.

zapier.com/blog/how-to-use-chatgpt-to-write-a-cover-letter

AI Virtual Student Assistant for Higher Ed | Ellucian

Provide 24/7 student support with Ellucian's AI Virtual Student Assistant. Deliver instant answers, personalized guidance, and proactive reminders that boost success.

Ellucian

Mainstay | Student Success Coaching | Human Centered, AI Enhanced

Our AI Success Coaching provides personalized guidance directly to students' mobile phones, boosting engagement and success rates.

Mainstay

The AI-Driven CRM and Agent Platform for Higher Ed

Element451's AI-driven CRM and AI agents engage students, streamline enrollment, and drive student success, working alongside your team in a robust platform designed for higher ed.

Element451 Higher Ed CRM • Element451

AI Chat Agent for Higher Education | EAB

Backed by EAB expertise and ready to launch in a single day, our AI Chat Agent engages prospects instantly and around the clock, capturing leads and driving enrollment outcomes.

EAB

AI Lesson Generator For Teachers | Chalkie

Chalkie is a tool for teachers to create classroom-ready lessons, sheets and activities faster than ever before. Create, edit and share lessons in seconds using AI.

chalkie.ai/en

Accio Work: Your Business, On Autopilot

Run your business effortlessly with Accio Work. Our specialized AI agents handle sourcing, supplier deals, store management, and marketing—all automatically. Backed by Alibaba.com’s vast product network, execution is fast and reliable. Skip the complexity—get results instantly while staying in full control of your growth.

https://www.edficacy.co/ - Tell them Jeff sent you!

I was using this one a couple weeks ago as we rolled out our first Career Week with over 50 parents and friends of the school coming to campus to deliver career talks. Planning something for the first time can be nerve-wracking, so this “premortem prompt” helped get ahead of things: 

Assume this plan failed 90 days from now: [OUTLINE PLAN]. Walk me through the most likely failure modes and how to mitigate each one now.

I was most impressed with some of the ideas it had from the perspective of the speakers, the students, the administration, my team, and me! Give it a try!

Please, if you have any great prompts or ideas, please share! Send me a note at [email protected].

5 minutes. Every AI story that actually matters.

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Webinars & Live Events Page

Look here for upcoming webinars and other events (and recorded ones) by the College Essay Guy! New events are happening all the time…

www.collegeessayguy.com/webinars-live-events

This is a fun way to end, a timely, non-tech piece by Jeff Durso-Finley:

College Tour Bingo 2026 | Jeffrey Durso-Finley, Ed.D

College Tour Bingo! As Spring Breaks approach, students and families will hit the road, not prepared for the wave of similarity that will hit them on the campus tours….

LinkedIn

Happy counseling!

Jeff