Admissions - High School Transcript

The high school transcript is often considered the most important part of the college application. The transcript is a culmination of a student's academic work throughout the past four years. The courses the student has taken and the way he or she presents the transcript can make or break an application for admission. 

What do Admission Officers look for?

The most important thing to an admissions officer is that the student that he or she admits is going to be successful. Each year colleges and universities throughout the country analyze the success or lack of success exhibited by the college's freshman class. College administrators analyze the successful students and the not so successful students to determine whether their success or lack of success could have been "predicted." Every year colleges and universities across the country and throughout the world come to the same conclusion, the most predictive part of a prospective student's application for admission is the general grade point average (GPA) listed on the student's transcript. Because of this, the academic transcript is often the most scrutinized part of a student's application for admission. 

Because of the highly predictive nature of the high school transcript, admission officers often review the transcript to determine; 1) whether the student was challenged by their high school curriculum, and 2) whether the student successfully met or exceeded expectations. 

The two most important aspects of any transcript are:

1. Consistent Academic Success
2. Challenging Course Work

Consistent Academic Success:

While it may seem to be common sense that academic success is an important part of a student's transcript, consistency is often overlooked. Admission selection committees expect students to achieve that success for a prolonged period of time. Consistent success exemplifies hard work and a dedication to academics.

Students who have shows some success, but have not maintained that success through out their four years should address this issue head on. College Questions Online suggests that students who lack consistent academic success develop a message that will allow the selection committee to understand the reasons for, and eventually overlook, inconsistent academic performance.

If the college or university offers the opportunity to interview with an admission counselor, students with substandard academic records should seriously consider this opportunity. (Consult College Questions Online's "College Interview" page to learn how to successfully complete a college interview.)   

Students may also want to consider focusing their admissions essay on developing a message that focuses on change and personal growth. (Consult College Questions Online's "College Essay" page to learn how to write an outstanding college essay.) The student may want to highlight some of their other outstanding qualities that may entice admission officers to take a chance on an otherwise substandard academic student. 

Challenging Course Work:

Admission officers are also considering whether the student in question has challenged him or herself throughout high school. The best way to show a selection committee that a student is challenging him or herself is to take advanced academic courses such as: Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB).

Students are also encouraged to consider taking these courses during their senior year of high school. Admission selection committees do not look favorably on students who "slack off" during their final year of preparation before college.

More specifically, students should especially consider taking advanced level courses in the subject areas that compliment their intended major. For example, if a student is an intended Biology major and has struggled throughout high school in Spanish, an admission selection committee will likely look favorably on the student if he or she has taken the initiative to take honors and AP courses in science related subjects and may be more apt to overlook the foreign language struggles.