Your Academic Profile

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Proper academic planning in high school can set you on a path to developing the necessary skills to succeed in college. Students have a wide range of course options: College Prep (CP), Honors (H), Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Dual Enrollment (DE) courses. Which are appropriate for you? How do you qualify for the courses you wish to take? 

You should seek to gain higher level critical thinking skills in all five major academic subjects (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language) by taking as strong an academic curriculum as you can handle. A comprehensive, yet flexible, long term academic plan should be created to balance all of your obligations.

It is important to do well in all prerequisite courses in order to qualify for higher academic courses and tracks. It is also important to do well in middle school classes in order to be recommended for the honors tracks in high school. This is especially important for math placement which is usually decided in middle school and builds on previous knowledge. Taking higher level courses often correlates with success on college placement exams which may allow you to skip introductory coursework, take higher level courses sooner, or even graduate early.

Guided care, comprehensive feedback, and personal reflection should be taken when selecting your course schedule. Put yourself in the best position to master valuable skills and not be left behind. 

Always consider that a balance between academics, extracurricular activities, friends, and family obligations should be a priority. This thorough planning will allow you to perform at your best in all you do without causing unnecessary stress. 

A certified counselor can help you identify an area of academic interest and ability among the core five. From here, they can advise you about how to specialize in this academic area, such as selecting thoughtfully considered electives, which levels to take, and which activities to pursue to complement your academic profile.

College Admissions Counseling can guide you through your concerns and can work in conjunction with School Counselors and teachers to ensure you are best prepared for college level work.

Note: For college majors requiring a portfolio for admission, such as Architecture, Music, Art, etc., these additional courses, portfolios, and related skills will likely be considered. 

Your performance in college preparatory courses shows colleges your potential to succeed at college level work. Many colleges include academic electives within the core five academic subject areas when calculating your college prep GPA. Taking academic electives helps to build your skill set and will serve you well in college level work.

Your overall high school GPA is shown on the high school profile included with your transcript to college admissions offices. This GPA is often the one used to determine your high school class rank. It can be weighted on a scale decided by your school district or unweighted on a 4.0 scale.

In some states, students in the top 10% of their high school class, for example, may be awarded automatic academic scholarships to state universities upon admittance. Many colleges will calculate their own high school GPA using their own weighting systems. This equalizes applicants from different high schools which weigh Honors/AP/IB/DE courses differently. You want to pursue the strongest academic curriculum possible without overloading yourself. In the end, colleges want well-rounded, social contributors to their campuses.

Many colleges use class rank for admittance and / or for scholarship consideration. If you attend a selective public or private school, you may wonder if the rigor of the school will be taken into account to compensate for a more competitive atmosphere and potentially lower class rank. The College Admissions Officer assigned to your geographic region is familiar with your high school from your school profile, past students from your high school who have matriculated at their college, and their own research. 

A trend in many high schools is to report the class GPA breakdown as a distribution to colleges, in decile ranges or half-point GPA increments. Presently, many colleges do not count class rank in their admissions process while others do. A well-planned college admissions process can guide students in determining the necessary actions to formulate their college list regarding their class rank.

Many colleges weigh your performance within the context of what is offered at your high school. Therefore, you will not be penalized for not taking Multivariable Calculus or a particular AP class if they are not offered at your high school. In these cases, it is possible to supplement your transcript by taking Dual Enrollment courses at a local college provided you can arrange your schedule, transportation options, and other commitments.

College entrance requirements are always changing. Some schools have returned to requiring applicants to submit standardized test scores, like the SAT and ACT, for admission. However, other colleges no longer require standardized tests for admissions purposes or have adopted test optional or test-blind policies. Nevertheless, many colleges will request them for first year class scheduling once admitted, sometimes in lieu of their own exam. It is important to be prepared for these exams as they could qualify you for scholarships. In addition, some colleges are placing more emphasis on AP and IB scores along with performance in dual enrollment coursework to demonstrate college readiness. 

College Counseling can help you form a specific, detailed standardized testing submission plan to appeal to the widest range of colleges in your application strategy. For example, the SAT is known to evaluate reasoning skills and the ACT is known to evaluate knowledge acquired in Math, Science, and English classes. As these exams reveal different proficiencies, you may perform better on one than the other. As a result, a strategy could be to take both exams early on and see which exam displays your performance best. Then, you can concentrate on that exam.

However, many college admissions offices have discounted the value of these exams and instead focus on tests which measure college level work, the AP and IB exams. Students taking the IB curriculum can pursue the IB Diploma which is recognized worldwide as a rigorous, international, college preparatory secondary school diploma. The IB Diploma meets the standard for university admissions in many countries as an equivalent to their college prep curriculum. Some UK universities stipulate that graduates of US high schools pass multiple AP exams for admission if they did not earn an IB Diploma.

The Personal Statement and supplemental essays on the college application are the opportunities for you to tie your narrative together and express things which are not shown on other parts of the application. They are also a place to showcase your writing abilities. Plan well in advance to write the essays, proofread, and stay within the required word limits. Keep in mind that students may be required to write essays for scholarship applications. The same time commitment, effort, and reflection should be taken with these essays as this money, unlike loans, may not need to be paid back.

Your school will generally submit a school counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations to all colleges where you apply. The teachers you choose should be able to write about your academic abilities and character. Make sure to give them plenty of time to reflect on their relationship to you before the letters are due. Remember to always send a thank you note to these teachers who are being so generous with their time!

A College Admissions Counselor can provide an objective standpoint on which recommenders could be best to ask for this valuable part of your application.