I’ve come to realize that this isn’t really rocket science (even if your kid is a fledgling rocket scientist), and there are only so many relevant colleges. Recruiting makes it more complicated, as does chasing merit money - but that isn’t the forte of boarding school college counselors anyway.
I am ok with the official college convos happening starting junior year, because every year there have been ongoing conversations with teachers and advisors about educational goals, compatible ECs, etc, which basically equates to the same thing as college counseling. Plus, the list kiddo would have made soph year is very different than the one he has now. I get why the school would want to wait to both get more data points and to allow the kids to figure themselves out a bit first.