New Trier students believe that the English Department is the best resource available when writing their college admissions essays, even over the Post High School Counseling (PHSC) office. However, English teachers, while they are willing to support students through the college application process, suggest that students look to the PHSC for assistance first, recommending students to use the English Department as a secondary reference source.
According to the English Department, college counselors are the better choice for a student to work with when writing and editing his or her college admissions essay as they can give specific advice befitting the student’s respective college choice. Mr. Cadwell, the English Department Chair at New Trier, agreed that while English teachers may be helpful in the writing process, college counselors are better suited to the task: “I think that the college counselors are the go-to-people when it comes to writing a college essay. They have a better sense of what colleges are looking for.”
According to their website, the post high school counseling provides in-person support during the entire application process. This page also offers students tips for narrowing their college search, as well as tips for specific colleges, such as Boston College, University of Illinois, and Purdue University. These tools and their value are due to the efforts of both the College Career Center and the English Department. “We’ve worked very closely with the college career center in developing materials available for student use when writing college essays. We are here to nurture [the students] through that process” says Mr. Cadwell.
The New Trier PHSC website clearly states that the main point of a college essay is to “demonstrate your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and help you distinguish yourself in your own voice.” The site reminds students to write with grammar and quality in mind, but “remember to let your voice, throughout the piece, carry.” Nevertheless, it is a difficult task for every student to write a college admissions essay and NT’s PHSC is there to help.
With this being said, Mr. Cadwell reminds students that the English Department is still willing to assist: “With the perspective of an English teacher, the reason why we have partnered [with the PHSC] is that we have something we can bring to the process.” English teachers are responsible for helping students to learn the basics of a clear writing style; college counselors know how to steer a student’s writing towards a specific voice befitting of his or her respective college choice. “College career counselors are able to take a student’s ideas and direct them more closely to what the college is expecting” states Mr. Cadwell.