To identify target schools are important, but also to plan for the whole college application process from test prep to college visit. I met many parents with no clue at all in these things. I agree that a college admission adviser may help, but I also think it is the parent’s job too. At the end, the parents need to decide which school is affordable. There are plenty of resources in the library about college admission. I started reading those when my D1 starting sophomore in high school. Now I am reading more recent editions of those books again as my D2 is finishing freshmen year. Hiring a counselor for the few months in submitting college application would not give you much help.
I talked to a parent recently. Her son is self-motivated and hard working. He took many AP classes and self-study more. He is taking 6 AP exam this year as junior while he has already taken 4 the year before. He took several SAT2 already and has registered more for June. He decided not to take SAT but just focus on ACT which is fine. The problem is he only took the state mandated one in March and got his only ACT score last month with disappointing result. Now he is overwhelmed with AP exam and subject test preparations that he has no time to improve his ACT score until summer. So he will have to take the test again in Fall and hope for the best or he would not be able to apply to any EA/ED of the schools he wants to go. Strategic planning for junior year is very important and should be even more so for the few months in filling up applications.