St. Ignatius

What is a Transcript?

The High School Transcript is THE KEY document in the Filing and Review of a College Application. It is a record of every class and semester grade a student has earned while at St. Ignatius.

Community Service Hours and each student’s specific senior schedule are also included, as well as any remediated coursework.

How Colleges use Transcripts:

Colleges review student’s transcripts (academic record) in many different ways.  Generally, colleges are reviewing transcripts to: 

  1. Determine eligibility to a particular college
  2. To assess the rigor of a student’s curriculum

Potential questions to look for:

  • challenge?
  • interest?
  • strengths & weaknesses?  
  • trends?

Transcripts fall under two categories: “Official” and “Unofficial.” Each type of transcript is crucial to the application process and each serves different purposes. 

Official Transcripts

A transcript is considered official when it is signed and either stamped with the school seal or printed on official paper by either the school Registrar or sent via Family Connection (online ordering program for SI's transcripts). This document is a key part of most college and scholarship applications as it is utilized for course and semester grade information during the application review process.  Not every College/Scholarship will require an official transcript, SO it is essential to follow the directions specific to each application.

Unofficial Transcripts

An “Unofficial Transcript” is an uncertified and unsealed copy of a student’s academic record. “Unofficial Transcripts” are provided to all seniors during the first meeting period of the Fall (typically in September). It is primarily necessary for your own personal use for filling out your college application and calculating specific GPAs (UC/CSU).

Note:

Seniors will be given an unofficial “working” copy of their transcripts for use in completing college applications.

UCs do not require transcripts with their applications. We do recommend that students send official transcripts to CSU schools if applying.  Each CSU campus has different deadlines, check with each CSU campus.

Note:

UCs will request a transcript after a student is admitted, and, as with all colleges, will require a final transcript if attending the following year.