(With Free Homeschool Transcript Templates)
One of the things that intimidates people the most about homeschooling high school is how to make homeschool transcripts. Thankfully, the solution is much easier than homeschoolers expect it to be, and it's free—you don't need a homeschool transcript service or expensive record-keeping software in order to create a homeschool transcript for high school to send to colleges. If you are intimidated by the whole college admissions process, before reading about creating homeschool transcripts you might want to read Jeanne's article about college admission requirements for homeschoolers.
This homeschool transcript template is offered in good faith at no cost, but you are responsible for checking the accuracy of all information in the completed transcript, including GPA calculations. TheHomeSchoolMom is not responsible for any potential errors, including the formulas and/or resulting GPA calculations. Use at your own risk.
We often receive questions about homeschool diplomas, but it's important to understand that when colleges ask for student records, they are asking for high school transcripts—the student's official academic record.
There are several ways to produce homeschool transcripts for your student, including availability from various organizations, online planner services, or creating your own. We have made it easy to print your own transcripts with our free homeschool transcript template for Excel—just input the information, set the print area, and print the spreadsheet.
Homeschool Transcript FAQ:
- What is the purpose of a transcript?
- What is the best way to keep track of records/grades for high school?
- What goes on a homeschool high school transcript?
- How many high school credits are needed to graduate?
- Which courses should be included on a homeschool transcript?
- Do courses have to be accredited/do the transcripts have to come from an accredited institution?
- If we covered AP material, can I count the course as an AP course?
- Is there a special format and/or contents needed for homeschool transcripts sent to colleges?
What is the purpose of a transcript?
Homeschoolers have many experiences and activities that they want admissions officers to notice, but care should be taken to promote those in the appropriate manner. This may or may not be on a homeschool high school transcript. As the student's official academic record, a high school transcript is shared with colleges and universities to show the student's academic readiness to do work at the college level.
While homeschoolers often think of homeschool transcripts as the place to help their student stand out in a crowd of applicants, college admissions officers may have a different purpose for transcripts. The admissions personnel with whom we spoke look to the application itself to see the individuality of the applicant, while transcripts were strictly used to verify that the base admission criteria for the college or university have been met.
Some schools are moving to a SRAR (self-reported academic record) in which the student enters their courses and grades in an online form as part of the college application. If the student is offered admission, a final official transcript is required to verify the self-reported information. In this case, it is important to make sure that the information in the transcript matches the SRAR, but it is also important to realize that the school will not see the transcript until after an offer of admission has been made.
What is the best way to keep track of records/grades for high school?
The best method is the one that YOU will use, because done is better than perfect. You may even wish to have your student keep the records.
No matter which record-keeping method you choose, it is a good idea to save everything your homeschooler is doing from about 8th grade on. Optimally, you will have some kind of written overview of the material covered and activities completed, including keeping the paperwork and any files from each class should you need them (larger projects can be photographed or videoed and filed digitally) as a reference. Beyond that, you can keep records either in a printed homeschool planner, a digital homeschool planner (online service, software, or spreadsheet), or simply keep a notebook with written notes.
Delight-directed or interest-led homeschooling does not mean transcripts have to be difficult. Vanessa Wright has suggestions for assigning credits for non-traditional learners. Unschoolers can keep track of learning using our unschooling record keeper, included in our printable homeschool planner.
When the time comes to create homeschool high school transcripts, your record-keeping should make it a simple process to enter the needed information (detailed below) into the transcript form/template. It is easiest if you keep up with the courses and grades as you go rather than waiting until you need to submit a transcript to start working on it.
What goes on a homeschool high school transcript?
While we may think of homeschool transcripts as record-keeping on our part, it's important to keep in mind that a transcript's main job is to communicate the student's readiness for college by proving that they have completed all of the requirements for admission. As such, a homeschool transcript should include course names that are as descriptive as possible and that appropriately reflect the difficulty level of the work.
Student information
A homeschool transcript should include:
- Student's name
- Your homeschool name (see "Should You Name Your Homeschool?")
- Your homeschool address (usually your home)
- Your phone number
- Student's date of birth
- Graduation date (use projected graduation date for pre-graduation submissions)
- A section for each grade OR a section for each subject area in which high school courses were completed, with the information below included for each individual course
- Number of credits (both cumulative and, if organized by year, for each year)
- GPA (both cumulative and, if organized by year, for each year)
- Grading scale
Course information
For each course on your transcripts, you should include:
- Course name
- Grade earned for each course
- Course weight (if additional weight is given) for each course
- Number of credits for each course
- GPA for each course
Other homeschool transcript considerations
Course descriptions. You may wish to also keep a course description for each course in your personal records (this won't be needed on the transcript), and you may even want to submit this with the homeschool transcripts. Some colleges find course descriptions helpful; if you decide to include them with your transcript submission, be sure they are no more than one page. Whether or not to include them is an area you may wish to ask for guidance from the admissions office of the school to which your child is applying—giving them more than they want to see can actually be detrimental.
Format. Students who have taken longer than usual to complete high school courses may find it beneficial to list courses by subject rather than by grade. The same information is shared but in a way that de-emphasizes the number of years in which the courses were completed. On the other hand, if a student is weak in a specific area it can be de-emphasized by grouping the courses by grade.
Outside evidence. You may wish to include information about where your child took specific courses, either on the transcript or a supplemental submission. While colleges accept homeschool transcripts, showing them outside evidence of the student's work helps colleges to see that a variety of professionals have worked with the student and evaluated their work. Jeanne has written extensively about outside evidence for college admissions, including sources for obtaining outside evidence.
Outside evidence may not all fit appropriately on a transcript. Some may be in the application, some may be included as references, and some might be submitted as test scores. Forecasting (during the early planning stages for high school) the content of the student's final transcripts (and applications as a whole) will help to illuminate gaps that need to be filled. You might find our high school course planner (part of Homeschool Planner Plus) helpful, and Jeanne has written previously about teaching subjects where Mom's not the expert, which is useful in the planning stages for high school.
Social Security number. Some homeschoolers include the student's social security number on the transcripts, but this is generally not necessary (or even advisable, since it can introduce the possibility of identity theft). You may wish to state "SSN available upon request" if you are concerned that the school might want to see the SSN. An alternative identification is to include the ID number from the student's Common Application submission on the transcript.
How do I make a transcript for my unschooler/non-traditional learner?
Often the learning experiences of non-traditional learners don't fit neatly into a traditional transcript format. Not a problem! Just as non-traditional homeschoolers think outside of the box for learning, they can put together a transcript with the same kind of thinking. Check out Vanessa's "Tips for Assigning High School Credits for Your Non-Traditional Teen Learner or Unschooler" for how to create a great transcript for your student.
How many high school credits are needed to graduate?
In most states, you decide how many credits your student needs to graduate. At the time of this publication, no state requires homeschoolers in the US to follow public school requirements for graduation, but a few states do have graduation requirements for homeschoolers in their homeschool statutes. Be sure to know the homeschool law in your state regarding graduation requirements, if any.
Even if you are in a state where you get to decide the number of credits needed for graduation, it can be helpful to know what colleges are seeing on transcripts for the public school students with whom the homeschooled student is competing. You can find the course and credit requirements for graduation for each state and territory in the US on the website of the Education Commission for the States.
Homeschoolers should also be aware that their state may have other requirements related to high school that affect college graduation. An example of this is New York's "preliminary education requirements," which do not prevent homeschoolers from graduating from high school or enrolling in college, but are required in some form before a student can graduate from college. Since at least one of the options must be completed while the student is still of compulsory school age, it is imperative that homeschoolers know the education laws of their state and of any state where they may wish to attend college.
Which courses should be included on a homeschool transcript?
Math starting with Algebra I (or Geometry if your student takes that before Algebra), high school level foreign languages, and high school level sciences are all included no matter when they are taken. Typically, these courses are first taken around 8th grade, but of course this varies by individual. All other courses taken from 9th-12th grade should be included as well.
Every college has different high school course requirements, so check to see what the individual colleges to which your student is applying require. If you have no idea which school your child might attend, you can find a general list of requirements on the College Board website. Requirements also vary by program, so whether your student is going into arts (BA) or sciences (BS) will make a difference in requirements. Typically, a high school transcript will include something similar to the following:
- 4 years of English including literature and writing
- 4 years of math including a minimum of Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Trigonometry
- 2-4 years of social sciences, such as World History, World Geography, US History, and US Government
- 2-3 years of lab sciences, such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
- 2+ years of the same foreign language (some colleges give credit for ASL as a foreign language and some do not)
- electives for the balance
Be sure that your student covers the material that is expected by the institutions to which they will apply. If your student doesn't yet know what they want to do after high school, it is a good idea to examine the requirements of a variety of institutions so that you can plan for all of the options. Most schools have a page listing the high school requirements (like this one for Virginia Tech) for applicants, but requirements may be different for specific colleges/degree programs within each university.
Do courses have to be accredited/do the transcripts have to come from an accredited institution?
In almost all cases, neither courses nor institutions need to be accredited for a course to be put on a high school transcript. Notable exceptions are if a student is interested in playing NCAA sports (high school programs must be approved by the NCAA), or if a student is planning to go from homeschooling to a public or private high school, which have their own restrictions about what can be transferred in. You can read more about accreditation in our article about homeschool accreditation and in Jeanne's article about homeschool diplomas.
If we covered AP® material, can I list the course as an AP® course?
AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, and a course can only be listed on a homeschool transcript as an AP course if the instructor and materials "go through a process called the AP Course Audit, which ensures that each AP course meets specific standards..." and is approved by the College Board as an AP course for the year in which the audit was done. Homeschool teachers can be approved to teach AP® classes by going through the course audit process before the course is taught.
A less restrictive option is to designate a course using AP® material as an honors course. Honors courses earn that designation through the use of advanced material and homeschoolers should be diligent to use the term only when appropriate.
Dual enrollment courses (usually taught at a community college or through a local high school) are another option. Dual enrollment courses are those for which a student earns both high school and college credit at the same time.
Typically more weight is given for AP, honors, and DE courses on the transcript, but not always—Lee Binz of The Home Scholar never weights classes on transcripts. And keep in mind that just because a course is designated as DE doesn't mean that the student will be awarded college credit for it.
As with determining the number of credits required for graduation, remember that it is your school, and you decide.
Is there a special format and/or contents needed for homeschool transcripts sent to colleges?
Transcripts you send to colleges should:
- State that they are official transcripts (and if they are final, state that as well)
- Show the grade point average based on grades and weighted credits (this is automatically calculated in our free homeschool transcript spreadsheet template)
- Be free of spelling/grammar errors
- Be printed on good quality paper (you don't need to spend a fortune, but avoid the lowest grade paper)
- Be signed either at the top of the first page or the bottom of the last page by the school administrator (you!)
- Be in a sealed envelope with a signature across the seal and submitted via USPS
If you have any issues, you may wish to offer a notarized copy of the transcripts, although this should not be necessary.
Free Homeschool Transcript Template
Homeschool Planner Plus formerly included an older version of our transcript template, but we have revised and updated the transcript and made it available as a separate file. The revised and separate homeschool transcript workbook for Excel has options for creating a transcript either by year or by subject, and includes both 10 point scale and 10 point scale with +/- options.
For questions, see the FAQ & Troubleshooting section below. At this time, we are only offering the updated homeschool transcript template for Excel and not other spreadsheet programs. Simply choose the style you prefer and enter the courses with the grades. For courses that should be weighted (honors courses, for example), simply add the extra weight in the indicated column and it will be figured into the final GPA.
This homeschool transcript template is offered in good faith at no cost, but you are responsible for checking the accuracy of all information in the completed transcript, including GPA calculations. TheHomeSchoolMom is not responsible for any potential errors, including the formulas and/or resulting GPA calculations. Use at your own risk.
How To Use the Transcript Template
Instructions on how to navigate and add information to the subscriber-exclusive homeschool transcript template.
Troubleshooting/Customizing FAQ for the Homeschool Transcripts
- I'd like to make changes and the sheet is locked. What is the password to unlock it?
- I can't enter my student's info at the top of the transcripts because the sheet is protected.
- I can't find the Student Info tab (or another tab). Why is it missing?
- What is the difference between the 10pt. +/- scale and the 10 pt. scale?
- Can I change the grading scale?
- I can't set the print area.
- When I print the transcript the grid lines are all on the transcript. How do I get them to not print?
- Can I use the transcripts in Google Sheets?
- How can I add a row so I can insert another course?
I'd like to make changes and the sheet is locked. What is the password to unlock it?
The spreadsheet is locked to avoid changes that might affect the GPA and credit calculations. If you are experienced with Excel and wish to unlock the tabs, you can do so with the password letmein. Each tab must be unlocked separately. I highly recommend checking the calculations manually after making any changes to ensure that they are correct.
I can't enter my student's info at the top of the transcripts because the sheet is protected.
All of the student information is entered on the very first tab (Student Info) and feeds automatically to the other tabs. The Student Info Tab is unlocked.
I can't find the Student Info tab (or another tab). Why is it missing?
There are directional arrows at the bottom left (the location of the arrows may be different in your spreadsheet program) that allow you to scroll through the tabs if they aren’t all on the screen. If you don’t see the Student Info tab, you need to use the left pointing arrow to scroll back to it. Screenshot of the tab and arrows:
What is the difference between the 10pt. +/- scale and the 10 pt. scale?
Some schools uses a +/- system when grading (B+, A-, etc.) and others simply use a straight A-F system without any +/- assignments. It’s entirely your preference the way you wish to grade your students.
Whichever scale you choose, the template for that system will use the correct grade points to figure the GPA. You’ll see the grade point assignment scales at the bottom of each template, so you can tell what grade point is assigned to that letter grade, whether it be a straight A-F system or a +/- system.
Can I change the grading scale?
The scale needs to be changed in the formula in order for the GPA to reflect your preferred scale. You'll find the formula by unlocking the sheet with your preferred scale (straight A-F or A-F with +/-) and clicking on each cell in the F column beside the courses entered. You should be able to choose one cell to correct, then copy and paste it into the other rows (the relative cells will change for each row, so if you copy the code from row 9 and paste to row 10, the references to C9 and D9 will change to C10 and D10). The formula looks like this for the A-F scale:
Where you see "0,60,70,80,90" in the cell, that is the ranges for the grades. 90+ is a 4.0, 80 - 89 is a 3.0, etc. The +/- scale has more numbers to account for the additional point values assigned for the +/- grades. You can change the number to indicated the lowest grade for each grade point range. You will need to edit the footer to match your new grade range. To edit the footer, click on the View ribbon and choose Page Layout. Click the center cell in the footer to edit the footer text.
One thing to note about this is that typically colleges do not rely on grade-based GPA as much as the number grade because schools have varying scales, so it may not be worth changing the scale. It's entirely your choice, but many colleges will average out the GPA based on their preferred scale regardless of what is on the transcript so that students are on equal footing.
I can't set the print area.
If you are sending in physical copies of the transcript, there is no need to set the print area (which you can’t do without unlocking the sheet). It will print correctly as is, but it will add pages on the end for the area that says “do not print the content below.”
All you have to do is visually check how many pages the actual transcript will be (should match the way the page breaks are set up visually and it prints top to bottom, then goes over to the pages on the right that you don’t want to print) and tell your printer in the dialogue box to print only those pages. Typically this will only be the first 2 or 3 pages.
If for some reason this doesn’t work, or if you need to set the print area to print the appropriate pages to pdf, just unlock the tab (Tools > Protection > Unprotect Sheet …) using the password letmein and then set the print area.
When I print the transcript the grid lines are all on the transcript. How do I get them to not print?
Grid line view options are in the Page Layout ribbon all the way to the right (on my Mac – Windows may vary slightly but it should still be similar). Be sure that the box next to Print under Grid lines is unchecked:
Can I use the transcripts in Google Sheets?
The transcripts have not been tested with Google Sheets, and we have had reports of a compatibility issue. Open Office, a free suite of office software, is similar to Excel and is more likely to work, but we have not tested it.
How can I add a row so I can insert another course?
If you need to add a row to include another course, you must ensure that the formulas to calculate the GPA are in the correct cells. The easiest way to do this is to :
- highlight an existing row that you want to duplicate
- choose copy
- right click where you want to insert the new row (also BELOW the grading scale rows)
- choose paste
Enter a grade and test the GPA cell for that line to be sure it is calculating. If it is not, click on the GPA cell and look at the contents to see if there is a formula there. If not, the row did not correctly copy and paste. You will need to copy a row that is correctly calculating the GPA and paste it in the row you created and test it again.
Homeschool Transcript Sample Screenshots
Homeschool High School Transcript with Courses Organized by Year
Homeschool High School Transcript with Courses Organized by Subject
Do you have questions about transcripts? Let us know in the comments.
First, let me say THANK YOU for creating a template and sharing freely. That is very kind and generous of you. This is our 2nd year homeschooling and I am trying to get my child's transcript in order. I entered all her classes and grades on the 10 pt. scale, however credits earned and GPA are not Auto calculating. I tried to click into these boxes, but they must be protected, I can't even click or select these cells.
Did you enter number grades or letter grades?
Hi. I downloaded the transcript template. Can you tell me where the signature and seal would go on this form? Thank you
Although there is not currently a line for the signature, you can sign it either beside the final cumulative GPA or on the first page at the top near the student information. The seal just means the seal on the envelope you put the transcripts in. Seal the envelope and sign across the seal to show the envelope hasn't been tampered with.
I’m trying to save the file to send as a word, pdf or some form of file to share with our insurance company. Am I missing a simplified way to have it be as a document file that’s not editable? Not sure if that makes sense !?!?
You can choose File > Save As > PDF (this may be a dropdown selection) to save as a PDF file. You can also print to PDF. Each system and printer has a different dialogue box, but from within Excel, if you click File > Print there should be a "Save as PDF" or just "PDF" option.
Is there a way to save as a PDF, but only the transcript pages and not the instructions or other info? We need to upload a clean copy of the transcript to a college website.
Hi Tami - The print area is already set to only print the area with content (no instructions etc), so you can just print to PDF. If you need to add the third page (if your child took classes for high school credit in 8th grade, for example), you need to change the print area by unlocking the sheet (password is letmein ) and resetting the print area. I go through this in the instructions video at about the 9 minute mark.
I don't know if anyone is still checking comments, but I thought I would give it a try. I am using your wonderful template to keep track of my high schoolers classes as she completes each year. Some of the classes she's taken (music lessons, drama, etc.) are not graded but still earn her credits. If I try to type "Pass" in the grade column I get an error. Is there anyway to fix that? Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Kim - the template in its current form cannot accommodate P/F courses without editing the formulas. I will keep this in mind for future versions of the template if I can figure out a way to implement it that is not too complex.
So you have a version that includes a place to put a signature?
I signed mine near the final GPA & cumulative credits.
The university my son will be attending wants all of his high school grades on one transcript, even though he completed his freshman year via an online public school. That school only provided letter grades. How do I adjust the formula so that the gpa calculates correctly? Thank you.
Do you have his report cards showing the number grades for those courses? If so, input those number grades. If not, I would choose the median number grade for the range of the letter grade that he received (IE if he got a B in a course and you are using the 10 point scale, I would use an 85) unless he knows approximately where on the scale his grade fell.
Can I open this up in OpenOffice?
It should work, but after opening, I would double check that the GPA is calculating correctly (easiest way to do this is to compare the GPA in the sample tab to the values shown in the screenshot on this page).
I want to know how or if I missed this important document. I iknow at th public school someone signs off on the transcripts with that being said is thier a way to do that for this document?
The parent is the administrator in this case, so the parent signs the document. I recommend placing the transcript in a legal-size envelope, sealing it, and signing over the seal.
Hi,
I’m really frustrated because I’m just not weLL versed in computers as a 51 year old. I can’t seem to figure out how to get in to add the information, at all. Can you send help, please???
Have you read through the troubleshooting tips in the post above? The student information is entered on the Student Info tab and feeds automatically to the other tabs. The courses, credits, and grades are entered on the tab of the Transcript format you plan to use. Please look through the Troubleshooting tips and comments. There are explanations with screenshots that I think will help you.
What do I do if I haven't kept track of the info for my son's courses over the years, maby just guess based on what i think he currently knows?
Hi Annette,
Transcripts are meant to show the credits students have earned. They are not based on what a student knows at the specific moment when their parent is creating a transcript.
I recommend you use use whatever means you can to recall your son's learning for credit, whether that be through courses or independent study. You just have to do the high school years, so you may not be as behind as you think. Here are some techniques that have helped parents remember when their notes are spare:
-Ask your son. He may remember that he took Spanish with your neighbor down the street over two years—and more about other classes.
-Look at your calendar for past years. You may have appointments with the math tutor or show when you were taking him to martial arts (PE credit), and these may jog your memory.
-Think about the books used. You may find the algebra and geometry textbooks he completed on a bookshelf, or you may remember handing them off to a homeschool friend when he was finished with them. If you used library books, you may be able to access a list of your/his checked out books with the dates. (Not all libraries have this enabled by default for privacy reasons, but it's worth checking).
-Look through your photos and social media accounts. You may have posted photos if you did field trips to historic sites, science sites, or arts sites. For example, seeing the photos may help you remember that going to the museum was part of the learning experience he completed for credit in U.S. History during a certain year.
-Ask fellow homeschoolers who have shared your journey. For example, friends may say, "Don't forget when we did cooking and nutrition together for health," or "the co-op classes for 9th grade were biology and public speaking" or "Remember when he was on that graphics novels kick."
-Look through boxes of keepsakes and ephemera. There is the paper he wrote on Thomas Edison! There is model he made of The Globe theater that he made when he took a Shakespeare class or read Shakespeare on his own. And so on.
-Don't forget to check the digital rabbit trail. Did he do projects in PowerPoint or Word that might still be in your or his computer files? Did he keep a blog in order to track the wildlife he was spotting during that phase of his life? Did he use Google docs to write a letter to your state senator when he was learning about government? Did he make a model of the ancient Roman Coliseum in Minecraft when he was learning world history? Does his Khan Academy account show which math credits he covered?
-Look again at usual credits that often appear on high school transcripts. When you see English, social studies, science, and math listed a year at a time, you may readily be able to fill in the blanks if you go calmly year by years. Thinking, "Oh no! I've missed all the years!" is way more overwhelming and might short circuit memory. But if you just sit down and think, okay, "what did he learn for social studies when he was 15?"—that may come to you.
If you and he are not legitimately able to remember everything, there may be some gaps that he can fill in by taking classes at community college if he is (or becomes) college bound. Having the transcript itself is one of the things that may help him get admitted to community college and later to university, so it's important that he have it even if you realize, "Oh! No precalculus!" or whatever. Working on the transcript may also give him time to fill in some blanks that you realize are present.
I have run into a few parents who started out really overwhelmed by this process but were able to think through it. They also often found more notes than they thought they had, once they thought of photos and computer files and journal entries and workbooks. And their kids were often quite able to help.
Best of luck.
Looking forward,
Jeanne
I have been trying to access the template but I keeps saying "please confirm your email" but there is nowhere to confirm my email, os there something I'm missing?
Hi Annette - please look in your email account for the email confirmation. Click the link and it will take you to the transcript file.
How do you list the courses that will be in progress but not yet finished when you submit the transcript to the college?
If the student has completed some courses but not others, fill out the year as you normally would for the completed courses. For the courses in progress, make sure the contents of all columns except the course name are blank. In the course name cells, include the number of credits and weight in parentheses. Screenshot:
If there are no completed courses for the year, delete the contents of the "Year GPA," "Cumulative GPA," and "Total Cumulative Credits" label and formula cells since no credits were earned yet. Change the Credits Earned column to read Credits Attempted and keep any additional weight in the "Add Weight for Honors/AP) column. Screenshot:
Hi! I just finished adding all of the info for the transcript into four years I did not edit/add/delete anything to the existing format My issue, when I go to print the transcript, it does 2 years on the first page, 2 years on the second page, and then on the third page is the box that has cumulative gpa and total cumulative credits Is there a way to include that information on the second page and not have a random third page?
If you run into formatting issues, you may want to look at the spreadsheet in page layout view (View > Page Layout). I'm not sure what is causing the extra page, but seeing where the breaks are can be helpful. You can change the height of the columns or the page margins if necessary to prevent the empty third page (PW to unlock the locked functionality is letmein). I haven't had this issue, but tweaking margins and row heights is usually the first thing I look at if the breaks are in weird places. It could be that one of your course names is two rows of text or something similar. That would throw things off.
Are school districts required to keep a home schoolers certificate of completion (diploma) in their records? If so, for how long? My son finished his homeschooling in 2007 and received his certificate of completion from his evaluator. I gave him all his home education records and papers when he got older. A new job interview is approaching and he can't find the certificate. Unsure of where to find it or if I can make a new one. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Homeschooling is regulated by the state, so your state homeschool organization would be a good place to ask that. A certificate of completion is not universally given. In the state where I homeschooled (Virginia), there was no such thing as a certificate of completion (diplomas were not provided to nor given by the state). Transcripts are almost always sufficient proof of graduation for employers and colleges. If the employer requires something beyond a transcript, perhaps your son could ask what they accept in the case of homeschool applicants from states without those requirements.
i used your template for high school transcript and have a few files saved in my downloads folder on my mac mini, but i cant open them and it says there isnt any app available in the apple store to open them.
Hi Marty - The transcript file is created using Excel for Mac, a Microsoft Office application. In addition to Excel, it should be able to be opened in Open Office or Libre Office, free versions of software similar to Microsoft Office. It can also be opened in Numbers, the Mac spreadsheet app. The only other formats you might encounter with our files are either zip files or pdf files. PDF files are opened with the free Acrobat Reader application, and zip files must be extracted before opening. Just double click the zip file to extract it, then open the uncompressed file with the appropriate application.
I am looking for a examples of 8th transcripts (middle school) for the state of NC. I wanted to make sure it had everything on it that is needed.
Do you have to include year end testing scores? What if the student takes any high school classes (ex. Algebra I).
I find a lot of High School examples but none for 8th grade. Please send a link for examples.
Thank you!
As noted above, transcripts are only used for courses that are taken for high school credit: "Math starting with Algebra I (or Geometry if your student takes that before Algebra), high school level foreign languages, and high school level sciences are all included no matter when they are taken. Typically, these courses are first taken around 8th grade, but of course this varies by individual. All other courses taken from 9th-12th grade should be included as well." These transcripts cover all courses for credit, no matter when they are taken. Any non-credit courses taken in 8th grade would simply be presented on a report card if that is required. As for specific requirements for individual states, we defer to the state homeschool organizations for guidance on that.
I am trying to insert more rows and copy the column that has the formulas in it. It wont alow me to highligt that column. Please help.
In order to do that, you need to unlock the sheet. Use password letmein to unlock it.
THANK YOU so much! I appreciate you walking along side our homeschool as we make this transition to high school by providing such great information AND giving us a free template! Many blessings to you and your family!
Thank you so much for this tool!
In both my junior and senior years I have taken courses at my local community college. What should I put there for credits earned? They are semester long classes but they are also college level so I'm not sure putting .5 would be correct.
Hi Olexia - It depends on how you plan to count the course. Some people choose to count it as dual enrollment, in which case they keep it as a .5 credit but add weight in the "Add weight for honors/AP" column, which gives it more weight when calculating the GPA (this is what we did). Others choose to not list it as honors or DE, instead keeping it as a standard high school course. In that case, you could assign 1 credit instead of .5 credits in the "credits earned" column but add nothing in the "add weight" column. Generally when converting college level courses to high school credit, doubling the weight is an acceptable way to account for them.
I am needing help to get into the FOOTER section. The transcript Template has been a dream to work with. Thank you. Our son has used two different Universities for Dual Enrollment. I would like to add this to the Footer section. Ex DE* LeTourneau University DE** Southeastern University.
Where can I see the Footer info and can I add to it at all?
Thank you and Blessings, KIYA
Hi Kiya - Double click on the footer area (be sure you are on the Home ribbon) to access it, or click View > Header and Footer...
Thank you.
I have changed from the 10 pt scale +- to the 10 pt scale. In doing so I have lost the values under course GPA. In each of the boxes under GPA it now says #N/A. How can I fix this?
When that happens, it usually means the formula is looking for a number that isn't entered. Check to be sure that you have entered a numeric grade (not a letter grade) into the grade cell for each course and have entered the number of credits into the credits cell.
Hello! I have filled out the transcript but GPA is not calculating and remains showing #NA. Any suggestions here? I even downloaded a new one thinking I had somehow messed up the backed but same issue. I figure at this point it is user error. Thank you for your help!
Hi Jenifer - I will email you about this to see if we can figure it out.
Thank you for this detailed explanation and template. You mentioned that course descriptions should be no more than one page. Is tis suggesting no more than one page per course, or that all course descriptions together would comprise one page? Thank you for clarifying.
Hi Jill - The more concise the descriptions the better, so we suggest no more than one page compiled. You can always note that you are willing to provide more details upon request.
Happy to help!
Thank you so much for sharing this!!! I am having an issue where my first Grade Level entered (9th), is also showing up on my 2nd page, right above that pages first Grade Level entered (11th). I’ve checked for Headers and looked at the formula, and can’t seem to get that extra 9th Grade to be removed from being listed above my 11th Grade. It’s carrying over to each new page. What am I missing? Thank u!!
Hi Angi - I'm going to email you about this to see if you can send me a screenshot of what you are talking about (including the column and row headers) so I can figure out where in the spreadsheet the affected cell is.
Hi Mary Ann,
My son attended one semester at a public high school, and does have a transcript from the school for that time. How do I show those classes as transfer credits on his homeschool transcript?
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Suzanne
As the school administrator for your homeschool, you have discretion in how to handle credits transferred in. Most institutions award credit but do not include grades for transferred credits in the GPA. If the grades are good, you may choose to include them when calculating the GPA; it's up to you.
If you do not want to include the grades from the public school and are using the transcript template, you would need to adjust the formulas to not include those credits without grades when calculating the GPA. I might do that by putting those credits in a separate section like I describe for adding the ASVB & ACT scores (deleting the formulas in those cells), then insert a couple of lines on the last page and manually add the number of credits transferred at the end of the transcript so that the total earned credits is correct without disrupting the GPA calculation.
Admissions offices are going to want official copies of transcripts directly from all schools that the student attended, and they may do their own internal GPA calculations anyway.