Creating a high school transcript for your homeschool student may seem intimidating, but it is a lot simpler than it sounds. A transcript is just a piece of paper that lists all the classes a student has taken, when they took them, the grade they received, and the amount of credits that the class was worth.
Transcripts are crucial to have for college admission as well as scholarship opportunities. They can be arranged either by chronological order or by subject. As homeschoolers, a transcript is even more important, as it is the main piece of evidence that the student completed high school with all of the necessary requirements. Despite the importance of a transcript, it is easy to create; it doesn’t even require that much time to do.
The two most common ways to arrange a transcript are by subject and in chronological order, and each format has its own benefits.
Transcripts arranged by subject matter have all of the classes of the same subject grouped together regardless of what year of high school they were taken in. For example, all of the English courses taken in high school would be listed together, and the same would be done with all math, science, and history courses.
Alternatively, transcripts organized chronologically are arranged by year, meaning all classes taken in the same year are grouped together. For example, all of the courses taken in 11th grade would be listed together and placed in between the 10th grade courses and the 12th grade courses.
So which format do colleges prefer? Chronological order, organization by subject, or something else? Well, it depends on the college in question.
Some colleges will only accept transcripts organized chronologically while others will accept transcripts arranged by subject matter. It is always best to check which method each college accepts to avoid any issues.
AP, honors, and dual enrollment courses should definitely be included in high school transcripts if they were taken, as they are generally much more demanding and rigorous than regular high school-level classes. These courses can be put on a transcript just like normal high school classes with extra credits being included if you have decided to weigh the GPA.
It is also worth noting that all courses (whether honors, AP, dual enrollment, or regular) can be denoted by the provider the class was taken with. For example, a class taken with Excelsior Classes should be labeled accordingly, which further adds credibility to the transcript.
Examples can be very helpful to reference when creating things as important as transcripts. By clicking here you can view a sample transcript that is organized chronologically, and if you click here you can view a sample transcript that is organized by subject.
Again, the way transcripts are arranged depends on the preferences of the college, so be sure to check that before developing the transcript.
Templates can also be a very helpful tool to use during the transcript making process. Here is a transcript template that is organized chronologically, and here is a transcript template that is organized by subject.
By referencing examples and utilizing free templates, transcripts are simple to make and easy to format, which makes the whole process relatively foolproof.
Overall, writing and formatting a high school transcript for your homeschool student is a simple task, and checking the requirements and preferences of each college individually will be invaluable.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the author and should not be taken to represent the views of Excelsior Classes, LLC or the consortium of teachers.
