re#177:
"I don’t think CC is the place for my daughter to get expert advice. "
Maybe not “expert”, but a lot of second-opinions many of which are informed opinions that can be relevant and useful inputs for your daughter’s college hunt . Of course one has to do filtering of same.
There are a lot of posters here who have done the college drill you are now going through with their own kids. In many cases multiple times. There are only so many schools on the likely radar screen for your kid, and they were the same schools, by and large, that were on the radar screen for their kid(s). These posters already participated in screening these schools, visiting these schools, and deciding on these schools. Of course their focus was on the needs and desires of their own particular customer(s), but in the process they likely gained information that may be relevant to others as well. They come with their own prejudices and life experiences, of course. But so does your counselor who is just one person as opposed to numerous. So just has one set of prejudices , life experiences, and set of opinions.
There are limitations. CC people do not know who is currently getting into what schools, with what credentials and personal qualities, very recently from your daughter’s particular school. They don’t have access to the Naviance information for your daughter’s school, or the feedback from her teachers.They have not spoken with your daughter. They do not know her. They only know what is posted here. Also, they generally won’t screen your daughter’s essays. So I’m not suggesting foregoing a counselor if one has the means, or that counselors are (necessarily) useless. But many CC posters are familiar with this type of information to a more limited extent from the experience with their own kids, and observing their high school cohorts, and can make extrapolations from that which may be reasonable. And they are familiar with the schools.
On the internet you have to decide what weight to give various opinions. That does not mean all expressed opinions are not at least somewhat informed, or completely without truth or value.
There are CC posters who have become college counselors. I’m pretty sure one I know of who still posts actually is a college counselor. (but still, has limited information about your kid).