Telling High School to Upload Gpa to Cal Grant
How to Create a Homeschool Transcript that Colleges Love
At that place I was - another night of lying broad awake in the nighttime.
My husband - snoring peacefully next to me - didn't know I was worried.
Like, really worried.
- What if I made a horrible error by homeschooling in the first place?
- What if my homeschool isn't taken seriously by the colleges on my son's list?
- What the heck do schools desire from homeschoolers anyway?
I was at the kickoff of the college admissions journeying with my beginning kid.
And what I was obsessing virtually most was the homeschool transcript.
1 folio. That's all it is! And information technology was enough to keep me up at nighttime.
How can a one folio spreadsheet sprinkled with messages and numbers crusade us so much aggravation?
Because this uncomplicated certificate tells our homeschooler'due south story. And this elementary document is supposed to move admissions officers to say yep to that story.
What I've learned over the years
Later on launching 5 of my own kids into higher and helping hundreds of other homeschoolers, I've learned that there's no one mode to create a transcript. There are lots of not bad ways.
Just observe the way that best reflects your homeschool and your homeschooler's story.
Find the mode that allows yous to slumber peacefully at night.
The homeschool high school transcript is a bully style to tell your story in the higher application.
What is the Homeschool Transcript?
Very simply, the transcript is a one-page document that provides a quick glance at a educatee'south high school courses, grades, GPA, and, if desired, exam scores (more on that later).
Not only does a transcript serve every bit a key college admissions slice, but tin also exist used for scholarships, contests, internships, certifications, and jobs. Note that the transcript differs from another document called Grade Descriptions.
Of import! A homeschool transcript is an official transcript. You practise not need to get information technology from an accredited association. Yous do not need to get it notarized.
Here's a sample transcript - typical of the kind I create for the homeschool families I work with:
Note: College admissions officers prefer a one-page, simple, like shooting fish in a barrel-to-read transcript.
How to Create the Homeschool Transcript: Footstep by Footstep
- Get-go early and keep thorough records each twelvemonth of high school. The easiest way to do this is to grab the Homeschool to Higher Planner. Great homeschool records = great college applications!
- Name each course. If a class is taken at habitation, experience free to give it a unique proper noun. Just be sure information technology's articulate what subject it is.
- Decide if and how you will weight grades to reflect rigor. Some schools immediately unweight and recalculate GPA'southward according to their own system, but some use weighted grades for merit scholarships. You don't desire to miss out on those!
- Found a grading scale and requite each class a course. Will you use pluses and minuses? Percentages?
- Assign credits to each course. There are a few ways to do this, simply most make up one's mind i.0 credit on 120-160 hours of work.
- Calculate the yearly GPA and the cumulative GPA. Use the Fearless Homeschoolers GPA Calculator!
- Decide if you want standardized test scores on the transcript. Don't include them if you're applying examination-optional.
- Decide if a subject field or year transcript best showcases your homeschooler'due south strengths.
- Create your transcript in Google Docs using my transcript template.
- Make information technology official. Label it "official transcript", sign it, and appointment it!
- Upload the transcript in the "Workspace" department of your Counselor Account in the Common App or in the establishment'southward online awarding.
- Be certain to ship an updated transcript in your midyear and final reports.
FAQs
What should I name the courses?
Should your course names be creative? Or should they be standard?
Your homeschooler'south education was not standard, and so if you lot have the gamble to label their English Course, The Power of Voice in Women'southward Literature, do information technology. Sounds better than 11th grade English language, eh? Just brand sure it isn't difficult to decipher what subject the course is!
Should I weight my homeschool courses?
To weight or not to weight? That is the question.
Considering Honors and AP courses are more enervating, some schools give more weight to them. Instead of a course being 1.0 quality betoken, they assign it 1.5 or two.0 quality points - weighting those classes by .5 or i.0 respectively.
Whether you lot weight or not is actually a personal option, every bit is so much of this process.
What Yous May Not Know
Many schools unweight grades before reviewing the homeschool loftier school transcript.
Why? Considering in that location is no standard in the fashion schools weight courses. Some base it on a 4.0 scale, others on a 5.0 or 6.0 calibration.
In club to streamline the process, admissions officers recalculate on an unweighted four.0 scale (many times excluding electives). They then assess those courses co-ordinate to their school's particular rubric used when evaluating an applicant.
It seems that unweighted grades are the way to go, right? However…
Some other picayune secret
Some schools apply weighted grades for scholarship purposes.
If your student is going to compete with others from schools that weight courses, you should consider doing the same.
What's the best mode to know if the schools on your homeschooler's list utilise weighted grades for merit scholarships?
Some institutions will share this information; some will non. It is all-time to call the admissions office and enquire!
Can I take honors or AP classes on the homeschool transcript?
If an outsourced course is labeled Honors or AP, certainly call information technology that on your transcript. If yous think the class is much more demanding than a typical high school course, feel free to call it Honors.
How much it matters depends on the specific admissions officer and if those grades are backed up past thorough class descriptions and/or Bailiwick Tests or AP scores.
Important: AP courses must be officially approved by College Lath. If your course has non been officially approved, you may non list information technology as such on the transcript.
What kind of grading scale should I use?
Each transcript should have a grading key or grading scale. This explains your grading organization in an efficient fashion to the admissions officeholder. In that location are a variety of scales from which to choose. Pick 1 and be consistent.
Hither are ii of the most commonly used grading scales.
How do I summate my homeschooler's GPA?
The easiest way is to utilize the Fearless Homeschoolers free online GPA calculator.
If y'all're interested in doing it the onetime school manner, hither's the blow past blow:
In that location are two GPA calculations on the transcript. First, there is GPA by yr. 2nd, there is cumulative GPA.
Step 1. Assign each course a numerical class. Let's brand this easy and base it on a 4.0 calibration.
Step 2. Multiply that numerical grade by credit amount.
Step 3. Add up all grade points and separate past number of credits.
3+4+three+two+2= 14
fourteen/4.5= 3.11 GPA
Cumulative GPA:
To get a cumulative GPA, add up each year'south grade points and dissever by the number of credits taken over those years.
> Annotation: the cumulative GPA is NOT an average of each twelvemonth considering the number of classes taken each yr is different.
The Homeschool Transcript Checklist
Apply this checklist as you create and review your transcript.
- "Official Loftier School Transcript" or "Official Homeschool Transcript"
- Name of Student
- Date of Graduation
- Mutual App ID#
- Appointment of Nascency
- Advisor Name
- Counselor Email
- Credits Per Year
- Full High School Credits
- GAP Per Year
- Cumulative GPA
- Grading Key
- Standardized Test Scores (if you choose)
- Parent Signature and Date
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Homeschool Credits for Homeschool
Should I include test scores on my homeschool transcript?
Sat scores, ACT scores, Subject Exam scores, and AP scores tin can exist included UNLESS applying test-optional (choosing to non send scores to a test-optional school.)
For obvious reasons, yous wouldn't want those scores on the transcript. Besides important: Practice Non self-report those scores in the Common App.
Insider Tip: Many applicants call up they are required to put scores in the application when asked! They are not and should not, if applying exam optional.
Should I organize my homeschool transcript by bailiwick or twelvemonth?
At that place are two chief kinds of transcripts that homeschoolers use; they differ in their organization.
- Subject: Organized by bailiwick and is usually front-loaded by student'south strongest subjects.
- Appointment: Organized by year. Similar to brick and mortar school transcripts.
Which transcript to use depends on your homeschooler. Does one type seem to reflect their story better than another?
Does one highlight their strengths improve than another? If you have a student who has studied a few languages or a student who has doubled or tripled upwards in math, a subject transcript may piece of work all-time for you.
On the other hand, if your teen isn't strong in a item discipline, a subject transcript volition make that painfully obvious!
Can I create my own transcript?
You can create your own transcript easily! It's a elementary certificate that can exist created using tables within Google docs. The certificate itself isn't usually an result; it's the preparation that goes into it before y'all create one! If you're looking for a template, in that location are costless ones and paid ones to be constitute online.
Where should I upload the transcript on the Common App?
In the your "Students" Department of the Counselor'south Mutual App account, click on your homeschooler's name, click on "School Written report" and and then "Transcripts".
Here it volition ask you how many transcripts yous desire to upload. Read every bit "How many pdfs practice yous want to upload?"
If you lot're including Form Descriptions, you would select 2.
Upload the transcript in the "current" slot. (Course descriptions would go nether "Additional Transcript" slot.)
Do I need to submit transcripts and official grade reports from outsourced classes?
There's no need to send every transcript or course report. Here are the basic guidelines for what gets sent and what doesn't.
College or Academy Courses Taken During High Schoolhouse:
Enquire the school to send your homeschooler'south transcript directly to colleges.
Online Courses
Sometimes online providers offer an official grade report. Your homeschooler takes English from one provider and math from another? Unless your educatee has taken the bulk of their classes from that provider, but transfer the grade onto your homeschool transcript.
What if My Teen Attended a Brick and Mortar School or an Online Schoolhouse Earlier Homeschooling?
If your homeschooler's high school years included a school that was not legally a homeschool, you have two choices.
- Your transcript just includes the homeschool years.
- Your transcript includes all four years.
When this gets tricky: If you cannot hands interpret the one-time high schoolhouse grades into your homeschool grading arrangement and GPA calculation, exit those years out. Higher admissions officers prefer that we not translate the other school'south grades ourselves. Get out that to them. They see students from a diverseness of schools, grading systems, and transcripts. They would prefer to practice the interpreting themselves.
Former Homeschoolers Who Currently Attend a High School:
Create and send a homeschool transcript (with course descriptions and advisor recommendation letter) directly to the school. This clears up any questions admissions officers have regarding the specifics of their homeschool instruction.
Should I include middle schoolhouse courses on the homeschool transcript?
In general, middle school courses should not be listed. The loftier school transcript is a transcript for high schoolhouse courses.
However, look at each school's requirements. Do they require four years of each subject? Do y'all need that 8th grade Algebra course on the transcript to come across those requirements? If so, then include it. If not, then it'south non necessary.
The 2 center school subjects - if taken at a high school level - adequate to put on a high school transcript are Math and Strange Language.
Practice I include planned Fall Semester Classes that are in progess?
Yes! Include all planned 12th grade courses on your transcript. For fall classes, include the names of the courses and note that that they are "In Progress" or "IP".
TIP: If fall semester grades are particularly potent and they weren't sent with the original transcript, send them to the school via email or the "Optional Report" on the Common App. If a student is considered a borderline applicant, a strong start to senior year could have an impact!
What nigh Spring Semester 12th Grade Classes?
As with the autumn classes, list whatever spring classes equally "TBD" or "in progress" or "IP". The grades for those classes volition be sent with the counselor's concluding report.
(Yes, yous'll be sending a final report with an updated and "Terminal" transcript. Be sure to include the graduation date on that final transcript.)
Contained projects
Look at the application in its entirety. When put together, the application should reveal all that your homeschooler is.
There are two places independent projects and studies can get - on the activities listing or on the transcript. First, ask yourself if the independent written report involved enough hours. If so, the transcript is an option. Then ask yourself if information technology is worthy of a class description, rather than the 150 characters available in the activities section of the Common App. If so, the transcript is the way to become.
Electives on the Transcript
If the electives are interesting and important to the student's story, include those electives. Concrete education or health? There's no need to include them unless you'd like to.
Note: For virtually of you, the transcript you send to colleges does not demand to include all of your land's requirements. For CA and NY residents applying to in-state schools, it may be a dissimilar story.
What Does NOT Go along a Transcript?
Activities, awards, and course descriptions do non belong on the transcript, especially if using the Common App. In that location are specific sections to list those items. If not using the Common App, and there's no section to include such accomplishments, consider creating a separate document.
As y'all can run across, much of what y'all choose to include is up to you. Enquire yourself how you lot want your homeschool and your homeschooler's story to be told. Yes, there are plenty of details to recollect about, but equally a homeschooler, you're used to that!
Want More on Homeschool Transcripts?
How to Create a Homeschool Transcript for the Common App
How to Navigate the Common App every bit a Homeschool Parent
3 Things Colleges Want to See on Your Homeschool Transcript
All You Demand to Know About the College Application Mid Year Report
How to Write a Homeschool Counselor Letter That Colleges Dearest
How to Create Course Descriptions as a Homeschooler
How to Create Your Schoolhouse Profile as a Homeschooler
Your Plough
What trips you up most about the homeschool transcript? Share in a comment below!
Source: https://fearlesshomeschoolers.com/blog/homeschool-high-school-transcript
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