School Profiles Part 2: Tools and Resources for Counselors, School Leaders, and Advocates
Accompanying a student’s transcript, essays, and letters of recommendation in their college application is the school profile. This curated report is intended to provide admissions officers with a high-level overview of the school and community context from which the student is applying. In essence, the school profile provides a conceptual “key” for admissions officers to make meaning of the applicant’s academic, extracurricular, and personal achievements in the context of their environment.
While about 75% of high schools in the U.S. do have a school profile available, only one profile out of the hundred sampled by Dr. Tara Nicola included all 14 of the descriptors that admissions officers expressed as critical in interpreting a student’s application. In fact, school profiles–on average–include less than two-thirds of these critical descriptive components. Under-resourced high schools without strong college-going cultures were more likely to have elements missing from their profiles as compared to their peers’ at independent or high-performing public schools.
This disparity is not surprising. Creating a school profile is not typically a part of a counselor’s job description, nor is it explained in graduate counseling programs or training. Yet it is primarily counselors who bear the responsibility of making and maintaining the profile. For counselors with high student caseloads, this becomes one more to-do without the time or resources to do it. To make matters more challenging, there is no standardization or guidance provided on how to create this multi-page artifact. Schools are given carte blanche in how they choose to present their school via the profile. As expected, this can create vast inequities in how admissions officers read and interpret students’ applications.
What We’re Doing About It
Making Caring Common has collaborated with Dr. Nicola to create a series of resources that assist counselors and school leaders in improving the quality and equity of their profiles. These tools, linked below, include profile templates and examples in easily replicable formats. We also offer detailed memos on the significance and utility of the school profile. Our hope is that these resources aid counselors in advocating for increased time or other support producing and maintaining effective school profiles.
Please note that these documents are still in a draft form. We eagerly welcome feedback here from all stakeholders in the process. A finalized version of these documents will be released in Summer 2024.
Creating a School Profile: ‘Why and How’ for School Leaders
The ‘Why and How’ handout provides answers to frequently asked questions on both the form and function of a school profile. These talking points are designed to assist you in advocating for increased support from school leaders in developing your school’s profile. Whether you are a counselor inquiring with your principal or a principal inquiring with district leaders, this easily digestible sheet stresses the significance of school profiles in the admission process and emphasizes the must-have components.
Specifics for School Leaders Creating a Profile
Directly excerpting Dr. Nicola’s research publication, ‘Specifics for School Leaders’ provides an in-depth analysis of the 14 most critical components to include in a school profile. Dr. Nicola offers insights from interviews with admission officers on how these distinct components are used in the application review and why they matter for improving equity in the admissions process overall.
The ‘School Profile Template’ provides counselors with a two-page model for creating their own distinct school profile. Our template synthesizes the 14 critical components of the school profile into a format that is both modular and easily interpreted. While we offer a scaffolded template, our hope is that counselors customize this document to reflect their school’s own unique characteristics.
School Profile Sample: Example A
Our ‘Example A’ profile directly populates the school profile template (above) with details from a fictionalized school and neighborhood community. This example demonstrates that an effective school profile need not be oversaturated with excessive descriptors or ornamentation. Rather, it can simply offer unbiased need-to-know content in a direct and straightforward manner.
School Profile Sample: Example B
Our second profile example, ‘Example B,’ assumes the initial contours of our profile template but offers examples of reasonable embellishments. It is important to note that example B is not intended to present as a superior option to example A. We only wish to showcase how schools may expand on the initial template to highlight distinct characteristics of their school, should they choose.
We encourage you to explore these resources and distribute them with any practitioners or advocates who may have recommendations that improve their quality or effectiveness. Feedback can be provided directly and anonymously to Making Caring Common here.
Written by Julius DiLorenzo, College Admission Program Coordinator. This is part two in a two-part series about School Profiles. Part one, linked here, introduces the role of school profiles and synthesizes Dr. Nicola’s research findings on why they are critical for equity in college admissions.
