Your hig h school transcript is a chronological summary of your high school course work, and the first thing colleges will look at when assessing your application.
A strong transcript will include a mix of subjects. Most schools require at least four years of English, three or four years of math, science and social studies, and two or three years of a foreign language.
While your grades in these core courses are important, so are your choices of electives. Colleges will look to see that you are motivated to learn by assessing the quality and difficulty of your electives. Likewise, honors and advanced courses are a good way to beef up your transcript, if you can earn a B or better.
Remember, colleges will examine your transcript very closely. The admissions board will also consider:
- Your class rank.
Where do you fit in among your fellow students? How does your Grade Point Average (GPA) compare to the rest of your class?
- Minimum course work for your target major.
Admissions committees will consider the program for which you are applying and assess how your academic record reflects that. You do not want to apply for an engineering program if you are missing the minimum credits in math. Be sure to call each school to find out the requirements.
- Improvement in your grades over time.
A student who did not perform well in the freshman year of high school may be given the benefit of the doubt if his or her grades improved in sophomore, junior, and senior years.
- A solid senior year.
Senior year is not the time to take it easy. Your transcript does not stop once your applications are complete and neither will your school record. Colleges will notice if you drop a class and/or take an easy schedule.
Work hard and the admissions board will notice. |
