“New Trier…isn’t that the school ‘Mean Girls’ is based on?” Charlotte Woodhams, a junior at the American School in London asked. Even across the seas, New Trier has its reputation.
Here at New Trier, students and parents pride themselves on being one of the top public high schools in the state, full of smart kids with bright futures. We also have an extremely competitive athletic department and an equally incredible theatre department. Many students have to wonder what could be better than being a Trevian?
Located in Winnetka, one of the wealthiest suburbs of Chicago, New Trier has come to be synonymous with rich snobbery. “I don’t know much about that school [New Trier]. But I know it’s one of the best, so I’m assuming they’re stuck up and suburban,” said Jalen Jackson, a junior at Kenwood Academy.
An entry on Urban Dictionary, the online website that allows people to create connotative definitions of popular terms, reinforces what Jackson said. It reads, “New Trier is a place unlike anywhere else. Not only do all the girls have Kate Spade or Herve Chapelier bags, they have Louis Vuitton day planners that rest inside them. If we were to add up the outfit of a typical Trevian girl on a ‘dress down’ day, it would cost as much as some people’s monthly salaries, probably because they needed to spice it up with a few pieces from their Tiffany’s jewelry collection.”
Marilyn Bass, who graduated from Loyola in 2012, commented that, “My honest perception of New Trier, just from rumors and such, is that it is a school with very wealthy white kids. It’s not a very diverse school.” The interesting twist is that many kids from New Trier feel the same way about Loyola, maybe even a little more extreme considering that Loyola is a private school.
Another popular stereotype that characterizes New Trier is that Trevians think they are better than everyone else. “Well, they are seen as very stuck up and privileged. They are also trying too hard to be cool and from ‘Chicago’ when they aren’t,” said Jeron Dastrup, a junior at Whitney Young. Many other students agreed with Dastrup that kids at New Trier try to act “ghetto” by blasting rap music in their Range Rovers, but not everyone feels that way.
However, not all Trevians are wrapped up in trying to be “ghetto” and can be genuine people. “I knew a few kids from New Trier and they were always really friendly,” said Keeley Miller, another student who graduated from Loyola in 2011.
“People find New Trier more intimidating because it is bigger and known for having cliques,” said Sari Grad, a junior at Glenbrook North High School. This is one of the many aspects of the movie “Mean Girls” people attribute to New Trier. Most kids agree that you could draw a map of the lunch room; labeling the various cliques like the one Janis Ian draws Cady Heron on her first day at North Shore High School.

Students from both New Trier and other area schools draw similarities to the movie beyond the sheer size of New Trier and the cliques. The resemblance between the school and movie is definitely unquestionable.

It is clear that many students in the surrounding areas think of New Trier as a “white rich kid” school