This will be the first in a series we’re calling “Evelyn Explains…” I’ll choose a topic that may seem confusing and I’ll try to clear it up for you!
A few years back, I posted this article called “What’s a School Profile?” In the short video to the right, you can watch me go through the process of locating your high school’s school profile, and I walk you through the valuable information it will provide to colleges.
When you submit your college applications, most colleges will request your transcript from your high school. Your high school will submit your transcript, which is delivered electronically, and another document will travel with it: your school profile.
What info is on a school profile?
The school profile will give colleges some important information that helps them put your grades and your course selection – your performance through your first three to three and a half years of high school – in context. Colleges will always want to evaluate you in context – meaning they’ll notice that you took 7 AP classes, but it’s helpful for them to know if your school offers 9 AP classes in total, or 28. They’ll notice if you took AP science classes (or you didn’t), and you’re saying you want to be pre-med. They’ll notice if your GPA is 3.78, but they’ll be able to discern a little bit more about that if your school profile has a GPA distribution chart (which many do). Context.
Although it may feel like colleges are comparing you against other students, they’re actually not. They’re comparing you against what you had available to you – both inside and outside the classroom. It would make a lot of sense for you to know what information colleges receive as they begin to evaluate your application, right?
So here’s your homework: find your high school’s profile – it’s probably on the school website!
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