<p>My kids go to a public hs in N. CA, where there are about 5-6 counselors for 1,500 kids. We had never even hired a tutor before, but I expected that my daughter would procrastinate in the college search and then at the last minute would apply to whereever her friends were applying, and I just wanted something less stressful. I had had some experience before with an educ. consulting firm in SF and was very impressed by them, so we went to their college counselor. It was a wonderful, relatively stress-free experience - we're doing again with the next kid. It took me almost completely out of the equation, which meant that something that could have turned into one of those "who's in control" battles became a pleasure (mostly). We also got some tips about the admissions process that really made everything go smoother. </p>
<p>The funny thing is that after visiting all kinds of schools she ended up applying to the 3 that she's known since 5th grade she liked most, plus a few additional UC's and one Ivy, where she ended up withdrawing her application. So we didn't really need a counselor to help select colleges but to be an independent guide to the process - with progress checkpoints. She had plenty of friends who did it without a counselor, however, and they all got into great schools, so it's not so much about giving your child an advantage in the admissions process as it is about figuring out what approach will maintain the most sanity in your household.</p>