Things ended up working for me overall but I can relate to this post so much ...
The assumption that it's 'obvious' that knowledge of how the system works is widespread is just wrong. It's only recently that I clued in to how the industry works, if I had all this knowledge handy years ago, if somebody told me, I don't know what position I would be in right now.
This even goes for high school counselors. I grew up in a suburban family with all of that knowledge of the system. My wife went to a similar high school, but is a first generation college student. She found out that she was supposed to take the ACT from a fellow student mere days before the deadline. Her counselor told her to ask her mom about college visits.
The assumption that it's 'obvious' that knowledge of how the system works is widespread is just wrong. It's only recently that I clued in to how the industry works, if I had all this knowledge handy years ago, if somebody told me, I don't know what position I would be in right now.