What You Need To Know About Transcript Scholarship Application – Interested in applying for international scholarship program and the university are requesting for your official transcript nor unofficial transcript, PDF transcript. This article will guide you through the whole process.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED WHEN APPLYING FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
Filling out scholarship applications can take a lot of time. Besides filling out the general application, there are several documents that you need to include along with your scholarship application. These documents help the scholarship committee get to know you better. They also help them determine if you are a good fit for the scholarship.
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Scholarship Application
There is no scholarship if the scholarship application is without the application itself.
Personal Statement
Majority of scholarships ask you to write a personal statement. You may be requested to write about your career goals and your reasons for applying to the scholarship.
Many students struggle with writing a personal statement. Be sure to use online resources and examples to give you an idea of how you should write your personal statement. Personal statements are about describing who you are and what makes you unique.
Standardized Test Scores
These are scholarships that often award students based on this test score, which means you might have to send in the score you received on your SAT, ACT, GRE, or another standardized test. Merit scholarships especially ask for this information.
Letters of Recommendation
When applying for scholarships, they usually ask you to provide one or two letters of recommendation. You can ask a teacher or guidance counselor to write you a letter. Choose somebody who knows you well.
This is a chance for the scholarship committee to see how other people view you.
How do you work on a team? Are you motivated? It’s a good idea to set up a meeting with the person recommending you, so that you can share things with them that they may not know. Be sure to give this person examples and achievements that they can write about.
Resume
If you are applying as an international student, some school might ask you to include a copy of your resume along with your scholarship application. This can be challenging for students who don’t have prior work experience. The scholarship committee understands this. They are happy to see other things on your resume as well. You can include hobbies, volunteer work, achievements, and different skills. You can also include language proficiency and computer skills. If you already know what you intend to major in, this is a good place to list skills which are relevant to that major.
Financial Information
For Need based scholarships, you will need to include information about your parents’ income and tax returns. Also, do not forget to complete your FAFSA application.
A Medical Report
Sometimes medical report can be requested by the scholarships board. The report needs to be signed by your doctor or health clinic.
Portfolio/Audition
If you are applying to a scholarship related to the arts, you will need to provide examples of your work. You may choose to include pictures of your artwork, a link to your website, or an audition tape. For art scholarships, your portfolio is your area to shine.
Transcript
A transcript is just one of the documents you prepare in advance when applying for a scholarship. A lot of universities require a transcript to confirm your GPA. They include information about every class you have completed and grades you have achieved.
Some universities may require official transcripts while others will ask you to provide unofficial transcripts. Although these documents seems identical, but they have substantial differences.
WHY DO SCHOLARSHIP NEED MY TRANSCRIPT
International scholarships, whether they are based on need or merit, will request from you, some documents, one of which is your university’s transcript. This you will submit along with your completed application. While not all scholarships require this, the majority of them do, especially the more competitive and higher value awards. Nevertheless, your transcripts are an indication of your academic performance along with an overall prediction on your future performance. Because of this, you will most likely need to have official transcripts.
TYPES OF TRANSCRIPTS
- Official Transcripts Scholarship Application
Official transcripts are documents issued in portrait format and contain the seal of the university and the signature of the University Registrar. Also, they should include an official signature. They are sent to the university in sealed envelopes after your official request. There is no need to apply to transcription experts since all information is stored in the institution you have studied before.
Things that should be included in an official transcripts:
- A list of the courses you took.
- The dates you attended the school.
- Your major and degree.
- Your cumulative grade point average (GPA).
- Any honors you received.
- The date your degree was awarded
- Unofficial Transcript
Unofficial transcripts as it name implies is not for official use. It is valid inside the boundaries of the issuing institution where it can be used to discuss study courses with teachers and also to get some paid jobs inside the universities. To get your unofficial transcripts, you will need to head over to your school website to get more info. Also, keep in mind that not all scholarships may adopt unofficial transcripts. Carefully read a scholarship application to prepare expertly what your university requires.
HOW TO GET A TRANSCRIPT FOR SCHOLARSHIP
Many schools require that you pay a fee to do this, and will also charge you an additional fee to send it to a specified address. To get transcript for sale, follow this process carefully;
- Visit the Registrar’s office in your school or college and claim for an official transcript. There is no human transcript service that will deal with the document. You can get it only from the educational institution where you studied.
- Log in to your college student account online and apply for an official transcript. Your school administration will send it directly to your university.
- It is also possible to request electronic PDF transcripts. However, not all educational establishments provide this service. Keep in mind that electronic PDF transcripts will be approved by universities only if they are sent by electronic delivery service from your school right to your university.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS
- The name “official transcript” connote that it is a document that is received directly from the college registrar with a seal to be identified as the official document of the school, while unofficial on the other hand is readily available for the student. It is also known as student’s copy.
- Official transcripts contains the students academic record including all the courses attempted and those repeated. While unofficial transcript contains Student academic record from the first year to the current year on a paper.
- Unofficial transcripts are free copies printed directly from the school portal while official transcript may require that you pay a fee to the school registrar.
- Official transcripts comes in a brown envelope with the school seal on it and it has to pass through the office of the school administrator while unofficial transcript are issued for student use only via self service.
What happens if I have to leave and the Transcript of Records is not ready?
This is a common especially among Erasmus scholarship students. Usually the exams take place in the very last few weeks of the Erasmus period and getting all grades in a very short time makes the process of completing transcripts very slow. But you don’t have to worry!
Your home institution should be able to provide an official provisional copy of your study documents with the grades you have achieved so far. You can also email the administration of the school to send the results directly to the International Office, which will fill out the document with the necessary information.
After your exam results have been recorded, three printouts of your transcript will be sent directly to the University’s International Office. Your home university should send you a hard copy or two directly.
You need to start getting all of these documents together. It can take a while to organize and gather all of the paperwork you need. Start collecting the necessary documents as soon as you start applying to scholarships.
Only submit the documents that have been requested according to instruction. Also, be sure to make a copy of the documents and keep them on file for you to have. Finally, submit everything by the application deadline or before!
That’s your basic checklist for the documents you need for your scholarship application.
Good luck!