What Does a Transcript Look LIke: A Comprehensive Guide

What Does a Transcript Look Like

The transcript is what schools use to gauge the academic history of a student, and what colleges use to determine whether or not they want to offer admission. The transcript has all sorts of information on it, including what courses were taken, grades achieved in those courses, and what type of diploma was received at the end. You can also see if there are any other types of transcripts that were issued (such as an unofficial copy). This blog post will go over everything you need to know about what an official transcript looks like!

What Does a High School Transcript Look Like?

A high school transcript is what all students receive when they graduate from a secondary institution. This means that it includes information about what courses were taken, grades achieved in those courses, and the diploma received at graduation (which states whether or not you passed, failed, etc). It also typically has other various pieces of identifying  information on it like your name, address, phone number and possibly a student identification number. 

There are many instances in life when it is important to know what does your high school transcript looks like, and have it available. Most importantly, higher level education requires that you prove not only that you received a high school diploma, but also that you attended and passed certain required courses. Also, most colleges, universities, and even trade schools need to have a record of all of your grades throughout high school in order to grant you admission to their institution.

Keeping track of your high school transcript could also be important for your career. More and more now, high schools are offering vocational training that is valuable for young adults who would like to enter the workforce with some advanced training. Anything from phlebotomy to firefighting to culinary training can now be achieved within the walls of a high school, which is great, unless you can’t prove your completion of the courses. In order to best show future employers this advanced training, having your high school transcript on hand is essential.

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What does a high school transcript looks like.

What Does a College Transcript Look Like?

A college or university level transcript typically begins with information about what kind of student they have there at their institution. This means things like whether students  are from the local area, what year they are in school and what kind of academic major they have chosen to pursue. This is not a requirement but can give employers an idea about what type of student this person was while attending college or university.

College transcripts then go into detail regarding what courses were taken within that institution, how long those classes lasted, how much credit was awarded for each individual class, and finally the amount of credit you received for completing this course. One major difference between high school and college transcripts that you may recognize if you were trying to determine what high school transcripts look like is the grade value for each course. In high school, grades are generally awarded on a 100 point scale, meaning that GPA points are calculated using these values. On a college transcript you will see much smaller numbers because most colleges and universities base their GPA on a 4.0 scale. This can get confusing for most people who haven’t ever seen a high school or a college transcript.

What Does a Trade School Transcript Look Like?

Another form of higher education transcript that you may be interested in is for a vocational school.  Vocational schools are what they sound like; you can learn a trade at these institutions. For example, if you go to school for Culinary Arts or Auto Mechanics, there is no need for a more traditional transcript because the courses themselves act as your grades. When applying for jobs in vocations such as these it’s necessary that employers know what kind of classes you were able to take, so a vocational school transcript is generally very heavy on course description more than it is a recording of the grades you received in the courses.

There are many ways to get any of these types of transcripts if you happen to misplace your original copy. It is possible to get either an official or unofficial transcript from your school. Another alternative is to seek out an online source, like ValidGrad, that can help you obtain an accurate transcript very quickly for a minimal cost. Keeping track of your transcript means that when you need it down the road, you can have access to this important document. Knowing what a high school transcript looks like is essential to having all of the documentation you need to ensure your future endeavors.

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