Guidance counselors are PEOPLE. Some are bad, and some are good.
I was lucky enough to get a terrific one. She never judged, always
supported my slightly off-the-wall career choices and opinions, and at
the last convinced my parents and I into looking into sending me to the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign--a school very few people
outside of Illinois go to. Being from New York, I certainly hadn't
heard of it before.
But, after doing some research and visiting it, it turns out that UIUC
is one of the best engineering schools in the nation and is generally considered
the "best kept secret in America."
I'm convinced that I'm ten times happier than I would have been at MIT
(which I would have had the subject of UIUC never been brought up), and
I have Ms. Corrazatta to thank for it.
Just as with all things, your mileage may vary.