@19parent I second that. We recently met with a private counselor for D20 and having the counselor review my D’s entire high school transcript to date and recommend a 4th year of Spanish and a few more rigorous courses such as AP Physics and/or AP Calculus BC instead of AB was enlightening. The counselor also plotted out critical ECs that would fit into D’s “resume” and “personal narrative” when applying to selective colleges. Having D hear this advice from someone other than her parents was extremely important.
With all do respect, the vast majority of cc posters do not work with dozens and dozens of actual high school kids every year applying to colleges, do norm know the outcomes, and were not on a top college admission committee for 3 years as was our private counselor. This insight is invaluable when applying to very selective colleges. These counselors know your kid a lot better than anonymous posters on a website, no matter how educated the posters think they are about the admission process.
I think for certain students, especially ones with inadequate HS counselors, having access to a good private counselor can make the difference of going to your college of choice vs being shut out. Put another way, at least you will know that you did everything in your power to get accepted to your best “fit” school.
Many parents will spend north of 150k on college expenses, isn’t spending a few hundred dollars a few times a year worth getting professional advice on the college admission process? For example, when colleges like UCLA have 113,000 applicants, having a private counselor on your side can help you develop a succesful roadmap. Just my 2 cents.