<p>I often wonder how good a college counselor is at evaluating an essay. We did not use a private counselor, but made sure that a very highly respected English teacher took a good look at our kids' essays. Because it is my belief that in the end, among all these many, many very qualified students, a stand-out essay (the part of the ap that remains unknown to all the sleuths on CC or anywhere else) is what very often puts the student over the top.</p>
<p>Edit: oops, I just reread the original post, and it seems that the student's essays already got rave reviews from her teachers. So I guess she's got that covered.</p>