This article about mediocre (or worse) guidance counseling is certainly consistent what we've seen in the REACH program.  The stories we hear are shocking: phenomenal students who can write their ticket to top-10 colleges (with full scholarships) are instead steered toward SUNY/CUNY.  One student was told she couldn't apply to Harvard, despite credentials that would make her a shoo-in there, because only the valedictorian was allowed to apply…

Most people who graduated from high school in the last dozen years believe that their guidance counselors provided little meaningful advice about college or careers, a new study has found. And many said the best advice on their futures came from teachers.

"Most young adults who go on to college believe that the advice of their high school guidance counselors was inadequate and often impersonal and perfunctory," according to the study by Public Agenda, a nonprofit research organization.

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March 2, 2010

Graduates Fault Advice of Guidance Counselors

By JACQUES STEINBERG

www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/education/03guidance.html