In the bustling offices of high schools across the country, counselors have an array of duties – from helping students with their class selection to offering social and emotional counseling. With so many students and a vast number of responsibilities, how much time is actually devoted to college preparation? According to a new report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, it might not be as much as many parents think.

The report found that the majority of counselors involved in the study spent just 20% or less of their time on post-secondary activities like applications and college selection. Public high schools, in particular, were found to be much less likely than private schools to devote more than 20% of their time to college preparation. Instead, many counselors rank other duties, such as improving students’ high school achievement and assisting in their personal development, as being more important.

Unfortunately, for those proactive families who seek out help from their high school counselors, many are told that they must wait until their child is a junior in high school to begin preliminary planning conversations about college. Furthermore, the match between counselor and student is not always the most strategic. According to the report, many high schools assign students to counselors alphabetically, rather than by academic interest or other criteria. This gap, combined with the relatively small amount of time being spent on college applications, means that many parents and students must independently conduct their own research and seek out more specialized and personalized assistance during the college application process.

No matter the level of engagement of your child’s counselor, do not let it limit the amount of time and energy you put into it. Applying to college is a complex process that requires a lot of backward planning so start early and use all the resources available to you and your child – it will pay off!

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