When preparing to study abroad, whether for a university or a postgraduate degree or as an exchange student, dealing with a lot of paperwork is inevitable. Your official academic transcript is an important document you must submit and ensure that all the required information is correctly filled in.

Keep reading to learn more about the official academic transcript:

What is an Official Academic Transcript?

The academic transcript is basically a document produced and certified by your former institution that provides an official and complete list of all your completed study with them.

This document is a mandatory part of your application process when applying to you any university overseas. Exchange students will also require another official academic transcript once you finish your study period, which is to be completed by the institution where you took the courses.

In general, Academic records are not released automatically unless you request them. You can get it for free in some institutions, but most of the time, you’ll have to pay for one, especially if you need more certified true copies. These are the following information that you’ll usually find in official academic transcripts:

• Personal information ( e.g., name, date of birth, identification number at the institution, etc.)
• All Qualification(s) completed, along with the date finished
• Qualification(s) still on-going
• Your course(s) of study attempted or finished each year
• Your attained course weighting and grades
• Grade point average (GPA) for each semester/trimester
• Your overall cumulative Grade point average (GPA)
• Conferred award date when you have graduated
• Your institution’s official seal

Keep in mind that every university has a different layout of its student academic records. Therefore, if you have any doubts about your transcript, it is best to ask your prior institution immediately.

What’s the difference between an Official Academic Transcript and an Academic Record?

Do not be confused because both the official academic transcript and academic record are the same document.

However, an academic record may also be called a permanent record (or even just a ‘record’) or Cumulative Record File (CRF) in the United States. In contrast, official academic transcripts in Europe are called Transcript of Records (ToR).

When Should I Request For my Official Academic Transcript?

Unfortunately, your official academic transcript is one of the last documents you would usually fill in or ask for. They won’t issue one until you have finished a list of the exams passed (or failed) during your study.

Double-check Your Academic Transcript

Ensure that all the required fields in your Academic Record are completely filled out, especially the date, administration officer’s signature, and the institution’s stamp.

This is very important because if your official academic record is incomplete, it will be denied by the university.

Takeaway

When applying for university, postgraduate, or exchange student programs abroad, remember that most universities in the US require academic transcripts to be certified translated.

Transcript translation service fulfills specific university and USCIS guidelines and helps international students come to the United States to study and American students who are leaving to study abroad.

Need to know more about translations? Read ”What Are Apostille, Certified, and Notarized Translations?” to learn more.