My younger son had SAT scores where verbal was in everyone’s top 25% (790) and math was in the bottom 25% of most of the colleges he applied to (690) - not a terrible score, but low enough for us to worry about. (He did have a safety he loved.) I believe the essays and his stellar teacher recommendations made a difference. But he was naturally creative and funny and came across as a very engaging kid. I love having him visit because he reads widely, and loves to talk. All that came across in his essays. I am not convinced a counselor could have helped, and honestly if he couldn’t have pulled it off on his own, I’m not sure I would have wanted him at the reachier colleges. As it was, I still sometimes wondered if he’d have been better off attending his safety.