I am in the middle of this now. But, my daughter is a junior. I am one to get a jump on things and plan, plan, plan. But, in this circumstance, I'd have to agree with others....it may be too early to get deep into the process. My daughter had her junior advisement in November (she signed up right away when annoucement made that these were starting) and her high school counselor is still doing junior advisements now. My daughter has had some questions and her counselor hasn't been the most responsive. When she finally responded, she more or less told my daughter that she'll have to wait and that "her focus is completing junior advisements. So, that maybe one reason why your child's counselor has been less than helpful. They're dealing with the juniors now. We went to a college fair this past Monday and reps were more interested in speaking with juniors than sophmores or freshmen. There are different "things" between looking at colleges being a junior or sophmore. For example: we plan on visiting a university this month. The tour consists of an overview of the school, admissions process, academics, student life and financial aid followed by student lead tours of the campus. On the other hand, if she was a sophmore, the tour would only be a walking tour with much less information. My daughters high school often has on line seminars from outside resources to assist parents and their children with the college process. To be very honest, these counselors or other people out there don't do anything you can't do yourself. IMO, it's a money grab. Go on line, research the school(s), call them. They are a wealth of information and the best information. Have you gone to the website CollegeBoard.org? It's a great resource. There's also Naviance. Did you know that if a student has ADHD, that they can get "assistance" and/or extra time to take their PSAT, SAT or ACT? My daughter is a procrastinator, I help her a lot. I'll always help her and be there for her but I'm trying to hold back and let her take the reigns more. This is her journey and she has to learn to navigate it. I will not be on campus with her. Colleges want to hear from the potential students, not their parents. It's all part of the process.