Do we need a college counselor?

The question you have to ask yourself at every stage is whether you are simply coaching an otherwise totally qualified kid on how to put their best foot forward in a process that is wholly unfamiliar to them, or trying to make a kid who’s NOT qualified for the college(s) in question (or the experience as a whole) seem like something they’re not. If the former, fine. If the latter, you’re doing the kid a huge disservice.