When you start applying to colleges, you’ll be asked to submit a high school transcript along with your application. Don’t freak out! This is not something that you misplaced or need to create out of thin air. It’s a document in your school records that you’ll need to request from your high school, and CFNC can help you!
First, let’s look at what a transcript is, why colleges need it to process your application, and how to send transcripts to colleges.
Think of your high school transcript as a resume of sorts. Each semester, your school collects academic information and updates your transcript as you make your way through four years of high school.
The transcript is a record of all the courses you’ve taken. (Remember Math 1 way back in freshman year?) Your transcript will also list the grades you received in each of those courses. Your grades will be combined to reflect your cumulative grade point average (GPA) and weighted GPA if you’ve taken any honors or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. So, remember that doing your best in high school and getting good grades are important.
The format for each school will look a little different, but in general, this is the information your high school transcript will contain. Now that you have a better idea of what a transcript is, let’s look at when you’ll need one.
You’ll need a high school transcript for almost any post-secondary education you want to pursue, including applying to college. College admissions counselors will review your transcript when considering your college application. For example, if you’re applying for an accounting major, but didn’t do well in your high school math courses, this could be an indicator that you won’t do well in a college-level accounting program.
In North Carolina, students who attend public, private, and charter schools can access the electronic high school transcript system through the CFNC website to send free transcripts to more than 100 colleges and universities around our state. See if your school is among the participating schools that provide e-transcripts.
The system is available to current and former students who graduated from a North Carolina high school after 2007. When current students use the service to send a high school transcript, the service will automatically send your official high school transcript after you graduate. This saves you the trouble of completing this process so you can focus on graduation. You are able to send your transcripts as part of your college application, or apart from it. Now that you know more about your transcript and why it’s important to colleges, let’s look at how to send transcripts to college through CFNC.
To send a high school transcript through CFNC.org, start at the Application Hub. There are two ways to send your transcript:
For a more detailed look at how to send transcripts to college with CFNC, check out this quick video.
Many high schools will also process a transcript request for you and send it to colleges. However, you might have to make a trip to the Student Services Office at your school and complete a transcript request form. Some school districts also use a third-party service to handle transcript requests, which may charge fees.
Requesting a high school transcript through CFNC.org is free. However, as we just mentioned above, some third-party services may charge a fee for each transcript that you want to send. Those costs can really add up, so remember to read all the information before you agree to pay for a service that you can get for free!
There are many steps to complete when applying to college. CFNC has helpful online resources to guide you through planning for college, completing applications, paying for college, and more.
Whether you’re just getting started with college applications, or you’re almost there but just need help to complete a few final tasks, like transcripts, check out the Apply to College section of our website.
