"Evaluating Applicants in the Context of Their High School"

Maybe you’ve heard this phrase before but weren't really sure what it meant or how it is done. Let’s break it down. High schools across the nation are vastly different in myriad ways - the demographics of the students, the funding available to the school, the staff available to teach a broad swath of courses, the demand/supply for types of classes.

In my first counseling job, I worked at a high school that had a GED program in the building, JROTC program for students wanting to enlist in the military, and a hugely successful technical center where students could take automotive repair, construction, welding, etc. to prepare for certification in those fields straight out of high school.The demand for these programs was high and the school adjusted curriculum to meet those demands. In my second job, the vast majority of students went to 2- or 4-year colleges out of high school, creating a need for a very different curriculum. So let’s say you’re graduating from my first school and applying to Engineering programs at a 4-year college, where it is expected you will have taken AP Calculus and AP Physics, but due to low demand, your school only offers math through Precalculus and a survey level of Physics. How can you compete with applicants who do have those advanced classes? That’s where high school context comes in. 

Colleges assign a regional admissions representative to every high school. This is the person who may visit your school from time to time to pitch their college, and one of his or her responsibilities is to know your school so that when applications from your school come across his or her desk, they understand the context of what is offered there. Thus, an applicant will not be discriminated against for not having had the option to take a certain class. Conversely, if a student aspiring for Engineering programs attends a school that DOES offer a variety of high-level coursework, and did not take advantage of that opportunity, it could work against them in admission. 

The primary documentation admissions officers use to identify opportunity is the school profile, which many students are unaware exists. Every high school has one and you can be assured the admission officers reviewing your application are quite familiar with it. While information varies by school district, profiles often provide information on the school’s average ACT or SAT score, number of National Merit Scholars, the full list of honors and AP classes taught, grading scale, and demographics such as general income level of the community, graduation rate, a full list of activities available to students and a list of where the previous year’s class went to college. All of this paints a picture of opportunity available to students at the school, and you, the applicant, will be compared to it. And if you have a classmate applying to the same school, you’ll be compared to his or her record as well.

What are they looking for exactly? One major takeaway is how many of the offered honors or AP classes a student took. There is no set number, but if a school offers 22 AP classes and the applicant took 15 versus 2, that won’t go unnoticed. If a student is presenting themselves as a potential Business major who wants to minor in Spanish, but didn't take any Business electives or a high level of Spanish, or if they didn’t join DECA, FBLA or Spanish National Honor Society, even though they were offered, their enthusism for Business and/or Spanish could come into question. Of course, opportunities taken elsewhere, outside of school can replace these, and there could be a valid reason the student was unable to participate, but as a whole, it serves students well to obtain a copy of their school’s profile and consider their transcript and resume against what is offered. 

As a caveat, students should enroll only in the classes they feel confident they can succeed in, and involve themselves in only those activities they have interest in. These decisions shouldn’t be based strictly on what they think a college wants, but it’s also smart to be aware of and take advantage of what’s available to us. So go to your school’s website and download their profile. If you can’t find it, your counseling office can provide a copy to you. Being proactive can keep you a step ahead of what is coming down the admissions pike.

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