<p>I was wondering if I should hire a college counselor for help with my applications. My school fired all of our counselors this year due to budget cuts, so I don't have many options in terms of free counseling. Do college counselors help and are they worth the money? I don't want to spend too much for nothing. I live in the SF Bay Area, so if you could give me any info on local, respectable counseling services, I would really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Depends on how much help you need. I don't think paying for a counselor is a good idea. It's probably not worth it. I read a lot of books on college admissions, and let me tell you, even if I hadn't read a single book on them, my application would have turned out pretty much exactly the same way. That's because you don't have much control over the application.</p>