Hi, I think you are right. I heard that my school made an offer to an experienced GC a few weeks ago, but somehow that GC decided not to join us. I think it would have been stressful for anyone to take on 200+ seniors and give good advice within weeks. While students understood the dilemma, it was bad news for us. We have had to grope our ways around on our own, and it was too late to retain external counselors as all the good ones were taken already.
Simply put, almost all students are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We do not have enough time to do all the research we need. So you were right, I need to make a decision to ED or not, and am leaning towards spending more time and making a more comprehensive list for RD. I would give up my high % shot but hopefully I will have more choices in the spring. Thank you again for your candid advice!