It’s only the most important homeschool document you’ll ever create! No pressure.
(Transcript Chapter) Chapter 7 of Homeschooling for College Credit (2nd edition).
Families who have a lot of college credit often worry about how to record credit earned through dual enrollment, CLEP, or ACE. Our families also want to be sure they are assigning the proper letter grades, calculating their GPA accurately, and not missing any key essentials.
If you’re really starting from scratch, my advice is to read the full chapter, do a template on your computer (tutorial below if you don’t have one), and just dive in. The other tools on this page will help you calculate GPA and fine tune your work, but getting something down on paper is really the first step.
FAQs
- Length? 1 page
- Titles? Keep them simple.
- Fonts and colors? Resist the urge.
- + and – grades? Only if you like doing extra math.
- To weigh or not to weigh? When in doubt, do it both ways.
- 1 college course taken at a college with a grade = 1 high school credit.
- Brand names shouldn’t appear on a high school transcript.
- Test scores (PSAT, SAT, ACT, CLEP, AP, etc.) shouldn’t appear on a transcript because it’s a FERPA violation.
- Remember that the transcript is only one part of the application!
- Know the difference between remedial, regular, honors, AP, or DE
- High school graduation requirements are not admissions requirements
Livestream Transcript Workshops
Online livestream workshops are taught by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa several times per year. The focus is specifically helping HS4CC families accurately represent high school and college credit on their transcript. Live Events
Template Build Demo (Recorded)
This 30-minute recorded template building demonstration is taught by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa and is open to anyone. The workshop is free and on demand – complete on your schedule. Using Microsoft Word or Open Office, the focus of this class is to build a template that you can use to create your own homeschool transcript. Build it Now!
Other Transcript Template Resources
- The “How To Homeschool” website allows you to create a pdf document that can then be printed or saved on your computer. The only downside is that your info isn’t saved. Transcript template
- Home School Legal Defense Association has a wonderful section about transcripts on their website. Some of it is public, and some requires a membership, but you can also purchase a transcript template from their site. HSLDA Transcript Resource Page
- FastTranscript has a special HS4CC promotional code that is good for 25% off the monthly The Essentials Plan which regularly costs $7.95. Use HS4CC at checkout.
GPA Calculation Tools
The easiest GPA calculator is Back2College SUPER easy to use, I’ve used it for at least 5 years. Totally free, but it is really just a calculator. They use a standard 4.0 grading scale, so if you’re planning to use a different weighted grade scale, this isn’t the best site. Also, you can’t save anything – it’s just to help you do the math.
Alternative GPA calculator if you use weighted grades GPA Calculator
Not sure if you should weight the GPA or not? Explore the pros and cons here.
Need advice? Email Jennifer directly if you have a quick question. (use form below)
