the college profile

The School Profile

The School Profile

By: Brooke Carleton

If you’re currently a senior in the thick of college applications you have probably heard of the School Profile or have seen it mentioned on the Common Application.  If you haven’t quite started the college application process, then read on to learn more about what the School Profile is and the importance of it.  

So what exactly is the School Profile? Although each School Profile might be different, essentially, they provide the following information:

  • Student body
  • Curriculum/types of classes offered
  • Graduation rate
  • Extracurricular opportunities
  • Grading and Rank
  • Standardized Testing Results

The information on the School Profile is compiled and submitted by your school counselor through the School Report.  However, since not all high schools have a School Profile, it is only recommended on your college applications, but not required.  Does your school have one?  If not, no problem.  Keep reading this blog to further understand what it is and you can upload one yourself from the Academic section of your application. 

Let’s start with student body.  This can actually be separated by school specific and community.  Below are some key points to include in the Community section:

  • Location of the school
  • What other schools in the district (including elementary, middle and high schools)
  • Diversity and socioeconomic status of the community

Here is what to include for the student body/school section:

  • Public or private school?
  • What is the student enrollment and grade levels (i.e 9-12)
  • When was the school opened?

Since high schools offer different courses, think AP, honors and electives, it is important to list the types of classes offered on your school profile, along with the different academic programs  available to their students.  Along with the courses, providing a list of the graduation requirements at your high school should also be identified in the curriculum section.

It is no secret that college reps want to see a student who has gotten involved in clubs, extracurriculars and volunteer opportunities.  This section is where you list all of the extracurricular and clubs offered at your high school.  

Does your school use a weighted grading system? If so, this is the section you want to provide the procedure specific to your school and how they grade their students. 

Another common section for a School Profile is test score information.  What does that mean?  Colleges are looking for a range of the test score results for the ACT and/or SAT. 

Hopefully after reading this you understand a bit more about the School Profile.  Still need some help, use this link from Collegeboard to view an example of a School Profile —> https://counselors.collegeboard.org/counseling/advising/school-profiles/sample

 

Source: collegeboard.com