School counselors can serve as agents of change in our nation's schools, particularly for marginalized students whose voices are frequently not heard. Historically, the role of the school counselor has been under-utilized and inaccurately defined. Research available on counselor role definition has been primarily quantitative. Research on counselor efficacy is not abundant, especially since a clear definition of the role has only recently been clarified by the American School Counselor Association and the national Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs. This qualitative study involves asking students who graduated from rural, low SES high schools, as well as counselors who served in those same types of schools, to share their perspectives regarding whether the role of the counselor factored into student college success. Results from this study provide information for a variety of stakeholders because it shares the little known perceptions of students and counselors regarding how their high school counselors influenced their postsecondary experiences. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]