Academic Transcript - Definition & Writing Tips

Do you dream of becoming a student at Harvard, Oxford, or another prestigious educational institution? Do you not know how to create an academic transcript that attracts the attention of professors? We have developed five steps that will lead you to the desired result.

Students applying for higher education must submit many documents as part of their application - for example, essays, diplomas, awards, and academic transcription. The most important of these papers is the last one. The document is of decisive importance for professors who select students.

However, teachers never formally explain creating an academic transcription in schools. This document contains many elements that you need to format and arrange correctly. Therefore, this article will discuss the meaning of academic transcription, its formats, and step-by-step instructions for writing.

What is Academic Transcript in Simple Words

An academic transcript is an official and authentic record of your academic credentials. The document testifies to your academic performance. Here, teachers can see information about you, the number of classes attended, final grades, GPAs, and academic achievements.

Almost all universities request this document from students. Upon graduation from high school, the principal must provide you with an academic transcript. However, sometimes the school management provides such a document only at the student's request. If the format of the paper provided by the school does not suit you and you want to describe your achievements more extensively, you can create it yourself.

The Importance of the Academic Transcript for the Student And Teacher

An academic transcript allows you to prove that you studied at a particular school and received secondary education. The document also demonstrates how well you coped with student problems, whether you were active and whether you will benefit the university in the future. This is a mandatory document, without which you will not be able to enter any higher educational institution.

It is important to note that students applying for graduate programs must provide high school transcripts. Students applying for postgraduate programs must submit their graduation or previous academic transcripts from the university. Also, educational institutions may require the student to provide all transcriptions for the programs they have completed. This is a very specific document, and you should consider the university's requirements before writing it.

Although the number of transcripts at universities may vary, some standards remain the same. Here are four basic rules that students should follow when compiling academic transcription:

• The document must be in English.
• The paper must contain consistent and legible information.
• The paper must include only truthful, accurate, and error-free data.
• The paper must have the seal of the educational institution, confirming its authenticity.

Deviating from these rules will result in you being denied admission.

Different Names of Academic Transcripts

Educational institutions differ in their approach to teaching or programs and the names of academic transcriptions. Depending on the location of the university, you may come across the following titles for this document:

• Academic certificates.
• Diploma supplement.
• Cumulative record file.
• Report card.
• Mark sheets.
• Transcripts of records.

It would help if you were prepared because there are various names for a seemingly straightforward document. Memorize the above terms of academic transcription. Regardless of the title you choose to work with, the purpose of this document remains the same - to provide evidence of education and academic achievement.

Types of Academic Transcriptions

There are two types of academic transcriptions:

• Official transcripts. This document details your academic progress. An official document will most often contain information about your exam credits, degrees over the years, awards, and internships completed. Such transcripts are compiled only in writing and sent to educational institutions. This is done to verify the seal's authenticity that the school puts on the document. This document is sent only with the student's consent and is fixed by his signature.
• Unofficial transcripts. The name clarifies that the paper does not have the same value as the official transcript. Such documents may contain false information. Also, there is no seal and signature of the registrar confirming the authenticity of the paper.

An unofficial transcript can be a draft for you, but never send it to an educational institution. The teacher may take your intentions as frivolous and report to educational institutions about your incompetence regarding the preparation of this document.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Academic Transcript

Now that you are thoroughly familiar with the concept of academic transcription let's get started creating this document. We have developed five steps that will lead you to the desired result.

Trust a Professional Transcriptionist

If you are not ready to work with a large amount of data and are new to this project, you should look for professional transcriptionists. How to understand that the transcription company is reliable and cooperates with competent linguists, editors, or people with a pedagogical education?

First, the transcription website must have an excellent online reputation and examples of work. Before trusting an expert, read customer reviews, their projects, and work experience in this area. Browse not only the official company page but also other review websites.

Secondly, professional human transcribers should give you guarantees. Ensure the company guarantees timely delivery of the order and has a fixed price. This will allow you to avoid missed deadlines and hidden fees.

Thirdly, the best transcribers must provide 24/7 support. You may have comments on the document, and if the expert is not ready to immediately make changes, you should not trust him. However, if the company has an online chat, phone, and email that work without interruptions, you are more likely to get answers to your concerns quickly.

As you can see, there are a few selection criteria. However, the right approach to choosing transcription experts will allow you to avoid scammers. You can get a neatly formatted, logical, consistent, and error-free document when working with professionals. This will save you a lot of time and nerves. You will have more opportunities to prepare for an interview for admission.

Develop a Win-Win Academic Transcription Format

If you have enough time and energy to prepare the project yourself, start planning the academic transcription format. This document has only three components. Your task is to focus on these sections and fasten the pieces together. Here are the key aspects you should include:

• Personal information. This first sheet allows the commission to identify you as an individual. This section should contain your first and last name, contact details, year of birth, home address, and, if desired, details of parents. You must also indicate the year of graduation, the cumulative GPA, and the location of the educational institution.
• Educational credentials. This is the main section of your document. This part allows teachers to know your detailed performance in school and determine your strengths and weaknesses. Start by describing the years of study, semesters, and subjects you gradually learned. Along with each item, mention how many credits it cost and what final grade you got. After describing all the subjects, you should print the average score for each semester in the end. Continue this process until you have completed the description of all semesters.
• Academic achievements. This is the last section that will show the teacher what these years of schooling have given you. Here you can specify what prizes you have received. You may have received an award for excellence in academics, sports, or any other extracurricular activity.

We recommend writing down the points on a draft before describing them in detail. This will allow you to collect thoughts and structure them correctly.

Decide on Document Requirements

You will save a lot of time on corrections if you think in advance about how your paper should look. Before printing a project, consider the following points:

• What quote formats will you use in the document? APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.
• What type and size of the font are appropriate for the document? The most successful are Arial 14px and Times New Roman 16px.
• What style do you want to format the document? According to your future profession, it can be exclusively business or with an exciting design.
• What headings will you use? You can print information separately on each sheet or develop exciting headings.
• What subtitle formats will accompany the video content? If you want to supplement achievement information from the video content, choose the most convenient subtitle formats - this will allow teachers to visualize information when they are in a noisy place.

Creating a document from a ready-made template is much easier than rewriting illogical sections endlessly. The better you think through every detail of the project, the better your chances of getting accepted will be.

Create a Self-Assessment Section

Most standard academic transcripts do not include a Self-Assessment section. However, teachers like it when students evaluate their achievements. Here are some suggestions for what this section should include:

• Tell the reader about your favorite subjects and explain why these subjects are fascinating.
• Tell us about complex subjects and how you struggled with this problem.
• Describe how you rate your skills acquired in the course.
• Tell us how the objects helped you form human qualities and life values.

This section should not exceed 150 words and leave a positive impression. Even as you describe your weaknesses, include the methods that helped you deal with them. So you will look in the eyes of teachers as a strong student, able to honestly assess your opportunities.

Carefully Check The Text For Accuracy

Before sending the document, check the text for grammatical errors and typos. Errors and inaccuracies may disqualify your entry. You will be very tempted to fake and embellish some of the data, but under no circumstances should you try to do so.

Universities take a long time to check your data for accuracy. In cases where lies are discovered, teachers can blocklist you and ruin your academic reputation. Try to send the paper before the application deadline. So you will demonstrate not only your literacy but also punctuality.