College knowledge

            It’s that time of year again at New Trier, where colleges come to visit and pitch their schools to curious students, and Seniors stress for countless hours writing letters to their university of choice.  The college application process, at New Trier especially, is treated like a life or death situation in many cases.  Obviously senior year of high school is extremely important for individuals who plan to attend college, and understanding the process going into senior year is essential for career planning.  But there is a point where high school students and their parents tend to stress too much at the wrong times.  On the north shore especially, kids are brainwashed from an early age about college, and are asked by adults what university they plan to attend before they are out of grade school. 

         
   My college of choice was at school today so I decided to do a little experiment on what my teacher, Mr. O’Connor said in my American Studies class (that they are a waste of time).  He couldn’t have been more right.  For a Junior in my first semester especially, the information that I got did not concern me yet, and I’m sure won’t have any influence on whether I get in or not.   In my opinion, our only goal regarding college up until our Senior year in high school should be maintaining a reasonable GPA and achieving your goal on the ACT.  Our college counselors will do their jobs and help us, to the best of their abilities, get into the institution best suited for us.  What do you guys think about how New Trier students handle the college process? Does our “head start” actually benefit us?