Liz Willen doesn’t claim to be a college admissions expert. But she is a parent of a college applicant, and she has covered education as a writer for many years. I think most of her Ten things not to do when your child is applying to college—don’t talk about test scores, don’t think of the admissions outcomes as a reflection of your parenting, don’t pin hopes on one or two colleges, etc.—are spot on.
The one adjustment I’d make is to #7’s “DO NOT anticipate much personal attention, guidance and hand-holding from school counselors if you attend a large public high school. Their caseload is too big and they simply do not have the time.”
My revision: “Don’t make assumptions about how much help you will or will not receive from your high school counselor.”
Is it true that many public school counselors are too busy to provide one-on-one attention to all of their college applicants? Yes, and many of the counselors would be the first to tell you so. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t help you at all or that you’ll need to pay someone else for guidance.
Only your counselor can tell you what you can or cannot reasonably expect in terms of personal attention. So ask what level of assistance is reasonable to expect. Even better, have your student ask. And do so before you actually need the help.