Any luck with counseling?

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I've been having a particularly difficult time lately.

Although all of my classmates are very nice to me, I've not made any friends and I'm often times the butt of their good-humored jokes. They try to make small-talk with me and I flounder to keep up with the conversation, but when it's time to go to lunch or hang out, they never invite me (not that I blame them).

My professors are less than impressed with my work and are annoyed with me due to my complete lack of confidence. They believe that I don't talk due to "not being prepared" and not knowing the subject well enough when in reality I just find it very difficult to put words together so that other people understand my meaning. I tried to explain this to them but they naturally did not understand what I meant (which is the problem!) and continued to tell me to be prepared and to basically anticipate every question that I could be asked and to formulate an answer to each question and to practice all of those answers so I'm comfortable with them. This is probably the most nonsensical suggestion I have ever received but I didn't know how to make them understand the real root of my problem. They perceive me as shy (which I am) and think that I choose to be this way. They don't like my personality and lack of participation and just stare at me any time I actually try to communicate with them.

So yeah. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, moreso than usual, and I've been considering going to my university's free counseling service. On their website, they have a list of reasons you might want to visit them and anxiety, depression, self-esteem, social isolation, and stress are on the list, so they seem to have a lot of my bases covered.

I've never been to any sort of counselor/psychologist/psychiatrist/whatever and don't know what to expect. I don't know if they'd actually be able to help me or if it's just one of those "you're a good person, believe in yourself" crapfests like every self-help book I've ever picked up. They have some weird email policy that prevents me from contacting them and asking them questions and the prospect of calling/going in there makes me incredibly nervous.

I was just wondering if anyone had any luck with a university counseling service and if it's worth trying? If it could help, I may actually be able to convince myself to go make an appointment. If not, I don't want to waste my time and drive up my anxiety.