There are two different things being discussed in this thread. The first is highlighting the very real problem of international students who are often taken advantage of by services with questionable ethics who are operating outside of the bounds of acceptable practice.
The other question was about US students using college consultants. There has been some misinformation about this topic. First, this is not a practice just confined to very wealthy families on the coasts. The average high school counselor is responsible for over 500 students now and that covers everything from complying with graduation requirements to helping kids with family problems. Parents with kids in public schools with these sorts of counselor loads maybe surprised when it comes time for college applications.
According to this article.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/college-finance/college-consultants-match-teen-with-school-1.aspx The average family hiring a consultant makes $75,000 to $100,000 a year. This is a solid income but far from being something that only a few elites have. Most people are paying consultants much less than the fees mentioned earlier on this thread - more in the ballpark of $3,000. Considering a lot of colleges cost $50,000 a year and many students don't graduate some families consider this a reasonable investment in making a decision that makes sense for the child academically, socially and financially.
As far as test prep, the success rate of group services like Kaplan or Princeton Review are not actually that high. To the extent they work they work as a form of discipline because people feel they've made the financial investment so they are more likely to nag their kids. You really can do the same thing with a stop watch and a free test prep book from the library. The biggest part of test prep really comes from doing well in the foundational courses such as algebra 1 and geometry. Also, there is no substitute for being a reader.
If you want to feel resentment about the role of social class in this process I would be more concerned about two things. 1. Paying for college - really poor people and really rich people seem to be on track - anyone in the middle class is in trouble. 2. The quality of education your kids get before they apply for college. It is much tougher to be a competitive applicant if you come from a poor school.
