Not to discount your experience, but I think high school counselors and university advisors just aren't very good in general, or are at least very hit or miss. They will tell all kinds of students not to bother trying for an elite school, or try to steer them away from college altogether. I also missed out on a lot of opportunities that I only recognized in hindsight, because nobody thought to tell me and I didn't know where to look.
[1] A couple example incidents: 1) I wasn't even made aware of AP classes because I didn't look like the kids in those classes. I had to do self study to take the test after I learned about it, which I ended up aceing. 2) I lost out a big scholarship that I would have easily gotten if my counselor had worked with me the way she worked with the white kids.