Is it the hardest it's ever been to get into college? Or does it just feel that way to the parents gathered at the kitchen table in August? For some, it's both: Applications have grown and expanded; deadlines all bunch up; policies change without any warning. That sense of being blindsided by the constantly shifting goalposts is why more and more families turn to college counseling services as early as the freshman year of high school, not to ease a financial burden, but beca
