5 Steps to US Study: Complete Your Application

Transcripts are a student’s academic records and are prepared and distributed by the college or university from which students have obtained their bachelor’s degrees.

Hello readers! For those who missed it, last week we went over how to approach filling out an online application form to apply to a U.S. university. This week, we will be discussing how to gather the appropriate transcripts for your university application.

Transcripts are a student’s academic records and are prepared and distributed by the college or university from which students have obtained their bachelor’s degrees. Transcripts will list each of a student’s courses and their corresponding grades.

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To submit a transcript to a U.S. institution, it must be in English and have an official seal or stamp from the relevant university. To receive their transcripts, students should request them from their university’s registrar’s office.

If a student is applying while in their final year earning their bachelor’s degree, they should only include their available transcripts with the application (i.e. exclude the current year’s transcript, as it would be unavailable at the time of submission). Alternatively, if the student is applying just after graduating from their bachelor’s program, they should include transcripts from each year of their studies in the program.

Ordinarily, U.S. institutions will only request that a soft copy of a student’s transcripts be uploaded and submitted with the online application form. However, if an institution requests a hard copy, these can also be requested from the student’s bachelor’s degree institution. These hard copies should be sealed in an unopened envelope with an official seal or stamp on the envelope’s flap from the student’s bachelor’s degree institution. This envelope should not be opened before being sent to the institution of your choice.

After requesting a transcript, it may take a few months for the student to receive them, so this process should be planned to be completed far before the application deadline.

Next week, we will discuss how to write a personal statement!

– U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad