I was an ALO for a number of years...gave it up due to schedule conflicts.
I rarely got the opportunity to talk to a youngster, see where they wanted to go, and point them in the right direction.
99% of the time the first time I heard about a student was when I had to interview them...and by then it is pretty hard to fix anything.
That is why I say to prospective applicants, find an ALO to talk to and get some one on one mentoring.
Yea ALOs have busy lives, but it is a nice change of pace to chat about the zoo, rather than write reports.