How to write a homeschool school profile and counselor letter

What goes in a school profile?

Leave out what the transcript already says, and leave out your child: the profile describes the school, not the student.

1. The school's name, address and phone, as on the transcript.
2. How you teach, in your own words: the approach, why, and what a year looks like. A paragraph, not a brochure.
3. The grading scale, from your records, so the reader knows what an A meant in your home.
4. Where courses came from beyond the kitchen table: a co-op, an online class, dual enrollment at a college. Name the place; the course list says which course.
5. Tests taken outside the home, as you would write them: SAT, ACT, CLEP, AP exams, a state test.

What goes in the counselor letter?

• The credits earned, the GPA (and the weighted one, only if it differs) and the graduation date, from the transcript.
• How many courses are still in progress, if any.
• A few sentences only you can write: what your student did well, worked hard at, or chose to study further.
• Your printed name as administrator, a signature line and a date.

What do colleges ask for?

It varies by college, and some ask for more from homeschool applicants, such as course descriptions or reading lists. Read each college's own admissions page; we name none here. Course descriptions can go with the profile.

Before you send them

Run the transcript checker first: it flags a missing grading key, which the profile and letter both use, and a missing graduation date, which the letter states.

Make them

Peabody's school profile maker keeps what you type in this browser under one key and names no child. The counselor letter draws its figures from the profile and the transcript, so the three cannot disagree. Each prints; nothing is sent anywhere.