Is mailing transcripts necessary before admission decision?

Post Reply
allen berger
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:26 am

Is mailing transcripts necessary before admission decision?

Post by allen berger » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:17 am

Dear all,

I would like to know whether I have to mail the transcript from every undergrad and grad school I attended at the time of application. Usually, I see that one can upload the electronic versions of transcripts but I am not sure whether one has to also mail the hard copies of transcripts before the application deadline or even before the admission decision date? So, is it possible to mail my transcripts only when I hear the decision of the school(this will really save a lot of time and resources)?

Regards,
Allen

User avatar
Tom Joad
Posts: 120
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 9:35 pm

Re: Is mailing transcripts necessary before admission decision?

Post by Tom Joad » Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:53 am

I can only speak for the schools I'm applying to, but I know that Penn State, Colorado, Stanford, Maryland, and UCSB all require at least one copy of the official transcripts in order to have a complete application, while Caltech, Berkeley, Cornell, and Columbia only require an unofficial copy unless you decide to attend. In general you have to look at the application requirements on the main page. Usually if there is a spot for an electronic upload of an unofficial transcript they don't require an official one.

allen berger
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:26 am

Re: Is mailing transcripts necessary before admission decision?

Post by allen berger » Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:32 pm

Thank you Tom. In some places I actually saw the application web pages writing in boldface not to mail docs to the department/univ as they will not be able to accommodate the documents of all applicants. I will however check each and every school before deciding to mail docs as you have given me examples of univs where one has to send.

Much obliged,
Allen

User avatar
Andromeda
Posts: 127
Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:17 pm

Re: Is mailing transcripts necessary before admission decision?

Post by Andromeda » Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:39 am

It really depends on the school.

Long story short for the reasons, but I didn't send in my official transcripts right away but instead just a list of my grades. Many schools didn't mind and then sent a "hey we're still missing your transcript!" type note before making a final decision, some just cut me automatically from consideration so that was the end of that.

Curiously not sending an official transcript is the standard in European universities (the only one that contacted me like that saying it was missing from the application was Oxford), where you usually don't send an official transcript until after your acceptance. I never sent one to my current institution in the Netherlands until it was needed for visa purposes.



Post Reply