HOW SHOULD THE SCHOOL PROFILE

BE FORMATTED?
 Written in English
 Include school’s logo/letterhead on all pages with school address, phone number,
website, principal’s name, and ideal contact person for any needed follow-up
information.
 Ideally one page, front and back.
 Use charts, graphs, bullet points, and color to break-up and highlight areas, as well as
save space.
 School’s name should be on every page of the profile (i.e., on the header or footer)
 If school uses multiple curricula, include side-by-side comparison.
 Define all abbreviations.

LETTERHEAD

 Name, Address, Phone/Fax Number, Email, Website, Administrators’ Names

 Information for the primary contact of the Counseling Team, including if college
admission representatives are welcome to schedule visits (virtual or in-person), when,
and who to contact
 CEEB/ACT code numbers (if applicable)
 Date last revised/academic year (you need to be transparent about when the data were
gathered and that it is current)

SCHOOL & COMMUNITY

 Location: city, province, state, country

 Type (i.e., public, private, technical, academic, independent, boarding, religious
affiliation, for-profit, IB World School, etc.)
 Accreditations (i.e., Cognia, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, etc.),
licensing, institutional memberships (i.e., College Board, NACAC, Northwest
Accreditation Commission, etc.), special recognitions, and honors
 History (including the year founded), school ethos, vision/mission & admission
guidelines
 Languages (what language(s) classes are taught in)
 Date opened & date of first graduating class
 Student enrollment and distribution by grade level
 Faculty demographic information (i.e. number of nationalities, % holding advanced
degrees and/or teaching certificates/degrees, teacher-to-student ratios, counselor-to-
student ratios, etc.)
 District/community demographics (i.e., socioeconomic and ethnic mix, level of education
of parents, major employers, etc.)
 Student demographic information (% by ethnicity, number of nationalities, % by region,
% receiving scholarships, % who participate in low-income programs, if applicable)
 Special recognitions associated with school curricula, including terminology or acronyms
specific to your school
 Link to the Department/Ministry of Education’s website, especially for less well-known
curriculum
 Extracurricular opportunities (i.e., sports, clubs, etc.). Include if there are additional fees
to participate.
  Policies for reporting disciplinary infractions
 Transcript availability (especially if not available until the end of the academic year) and
if the country system is solely exam based

CURRICULUM

 Academic school year, calendar system, and school schedule (i.e., quarters, semesters,
trimesters; August to May, February to December; traditional or block; total class hours
per week, minutes per class, etc.)
 Academic Programs (i.e., national, IB, AP, British, special diplomas, tracks,
nontraditional curricula, etc.) and % of students who choose each, if applicable
 Offerings (i.e., IB Diploma Program, AP, Honors, college-preparatory courses, regular)
 Requirements for course selection (open or selective—do you have to apply or take an
exam to enter a class, or can anyone enroll in the course?)
 Limitations (i.e., number of AP/IB courses taken per year, maximum number of classes
taken per semester, number of universities a student can apply to)
 Graduation requirements (i.e., number of credits needed, community service hours, etc.)
 Special projects unique to your school (i.e. is a class research- or project-based?)
 Context of how demanding is the curriculum and what are “impressive” grades within
your school

GRADING SYSTEM

 Scale details (you do not need to convert the scale to letters (A, B, C, D) if your school
does not follow that format).
 Grade distribution (many high schools use a chart or bullet points to list the ranges of the
most recent graduating class’ GPA). If GPA is not calculated, that should also be
indicated.
 Class rank policy and, if applicable, how it is calculated
 Policies on weighting courses, recording grades (if grades from all courses attempted are
reported on transcripts), pass/fail, and repeating courses

STANDARDIZED EXAMS

 Summary breakdown (i.e., how many students took “x” exam and earned “x” grade over
“x” period of time or for the most recent class—some counselors include a chart with this
information; others include middle 50% range)
 Distribution of specialized test scores: AP, IB, TOEFL and/or IELTS scores
 State-required or national test score summaries with timelines, including the
state/national average as a comparison point (if applicable)
 Disadvantages/hardships/restrictions/support (i.e., test cancellations, delays, capacity
limits, lack of proximity to testing centers, availability for students to take a PSAT, SAT
coaching availability, in-country resources available (or not) for recent books or e-books)
 External exams (exams not affiliated with your school) offered on site (if applicable)
 Simultaneous exam preparation for students: for example, prepping for non-U.S. based
exams such as Cambridge English exams.

COVID-19 RELATED ISSUES (IF NOT INCLUDED IN THE COUNSELOR

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION)

 Closing/reopening dates
 Changes to grading system
  Scheduling conflicts
 Changes in instructional methods
 Extenuating circumstances, including if students and teachers have had access (or lack
thereof) to learning technology
 Curricula changes due to COVID (i.e., removal of practical/lab requirements, did classes
change to pass/fail? Were classes given on the same schedule via Zoom?)

EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

 Number of students from the Class of 20XX who have graduated (or are on track to
graduate, depending on timing)
 Post-high school placements (i.e., % students attending university in-country and
international universities)
 % of students who pursue a pre-university program of study (as dictated by the
curriculum), two- and three/four-year degrees (a Bachelor’s), etc.
 Alternative/mandatory post secondary destinations (gap year, workforce, military, etc.)
 List of universities students have been accepted to and attended (include all schools, not
just selective schools; indicate # next to school name of how many matriculate )
 Awards/distinctions of recent graduates

SAMPLE

School Letterhead

2020-21 [School Name]

CEEB code: 222222
Main office: (555) 666-7777
Counseling office: (555) 666-8888
Website: schoolname.edu
Principal: Genevieve Berry
School counselors: Cherie Blake, Frank Morgan, Lee Wendell

Community

Spanning [130 square miles], [district name] School District serves the educational needs of [this
city's] [area of city]. Located in one of the state's fastest growing areas, the district enjoys a
diversified economic base. Currently, the district consists of five high schools, four middle
schools and 14 elementary schools utilizing a K–5, 6–8, 9–12 grade-level configuration. The
student body is culturally diverse with a population that is 57% Hispanic, 16% African
American, 13% white, and 12% Asian.

School

[School name] is a comprehensive four-year public high school enrolling 1,250 students in
grades 9–12. The school opened in the fall of 1987 and graduated its first senior class in the
spring of 1989. [School name] is accredited by the North Central Association of Secondary
Schools and holds membership in the College Board and the National Association for College
Admission Counseling.

Curriculum

The academic program is organized on a rotating block schedule. Seven credits per semester is
the maximum course load; students take four 95-minute block classes, two 97-minute block
classes, and one 50-minute class. Students attend three block classes and the regular class daily.
Block classes are year-long; each block class meets every other day. Block scheduling was
instituted in 1993.

These AP® courses are offered: Art History, Biology, Calculus AB and BC, Chemistry, English
Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, European History,
Government and Politics: United States, Government and Politics: Comparative, Physics B,
Statistics, United States History, and World History. AP world language and culture courses
offered include Chinese, French, German, and Spanish as well as Spanish Literature. AP is an
open-enrollment program. Honors classes are offered in English II, Algebra II, and Elementary
Functions. Entry into Elementary Functions requires an 80% proficiency score on a school-
created Algebra II skills test. The Area Vocational & College Programs (AVCP) enables juniors
and seniors to enroll in freshmen courses and earn college credits at local institutions of higher
education.

Grading and Ranking

A – Excellent 94–100 4
 B – Above average 85–93 3

C – Average 75–84 2

D – Below average 65–74 1

F – Failure 64 or below 0

Rank
School policy eliminated class rank beginning with the Class of 2003.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Calculation

GPA is computed using the above quality points. Beginning with grade nine, all subjects,
whether passed or failed, are included in the computation. A minimum of 48 credits is required
for graduation. In addition, each student must complete a 200-hour community service
graduation requirement. AP and Honors classes are weighted by one point. Grades are recorded
on the transcript and GPA is computed in January and May.

Class of 2021

There were 365 graduates in the Class of 2021.

  36 earned a 4.0+
 50 earned 3.5–3.99
 100 earned 3.0–3.49
 100 earned 2.50–2.99
 75 earned 2.0–2.49
 4 earned less than a 2.0

Standardized Test Results

85% of the Class of 2021 (310) took the SAT® 67% of the Class of 2021 (245) took the ACT

Middle 50% Critical reading 480–590 Middle 50% Composite 22–25

Middle 50% Math 500–650

Middle 50% Writing 490–580

Advanced Placement Results

 In May 2021, 337 took AP Exams

 A total of 771 exams were taken in 19 subjects
 51% of the AP Exams received scores of 3 or higher
Post High School Placement

 71% matriculated to 4-year colleges

 18% matriculated to 2-year institutions
 11% selected work, military service, or technical instruction

Awards and Distinctions, 2020-21

 2 National Hispanic Program Scholar Finalists

 2 National Council of Teachers of English Awards in Writing
 1 National Merit Finalist

Colleges Attended by [School Name] Graduates from the Last Four Years

 Adams State College  Northern Colorado, U of

 Alaska U of Fairbanks  Pennsylvania State University
 Arizona State University  Pepperdine University
 Arizona, University of  Puget Sound, University of
 Brigham Young University  Purdue University
 Carleton College  Rhodes College
 Carnegie Mellon University  Rochester Institute of Technology
 Coe College  Southern Colorado, U of
 Colorado College  Texas Christian University
 Colorado State University  Truman University
 Colorado, U of Boulder  Tulane University
 Cornell University  United States Air Force Academy
 Denver, University of  United States Military Academy
 Florida Tech  Webster University
 Fort Lewis College  Western State College
 Georgetown University  Wheaton College
 Grinnell College  William and Mary, College of
 Harvard University  Wisconsin, U of Madison
 James Madison University  Wyoming, University of
 Lawrence University  Yale University
 Linfield College
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Mesa State College
 Montana, University of
  Nevada, U of Las Vegas
 New York University

Contact Information

Cherie Blake
School Counselor
cblake@schoolname.edu
(555) 666-8888