What About Transcripts?

"  How Do I Compile a Transcript?"

"Transcript: an official school report which includes a student's courses, grades, and credits."

We get calls regularly from people who want to know if they can purchase a transcript from us along with their diploma. The answer is "No, we don't sell transcripts."  A transcript from your home school/ high school is not something that you buy; it is something that you compile. We have no way to know what courses your student has completed, or what grades to assign them.  (The only places we know of that will sell you a completed transcript without being involved in the education of your student in some way are those which also sell F*A*K*E* university degrees!)

How important is it to compile a transcript for your home schooled son or daughter? It is VERY important, especially if they ever plan to continue their education at a college or university.  The diploma is simply a certificate stating that the student has fulfilled the requirements of the school. It represents the successful completion of your school's course of study. The transcript is "evidence" that backs up the diploma and gives the specifics of what the student's education has entailed. Only the person overseeing the student's education can accurately compile the transcript. 

Compiling a transcript is ideally done one year at a time as your student finishes each grade of High School, but if you have kept good records, it will not be difficult to compile it once they have finished.  It is a good idea to create a transcript even if your child does not plan to go to college. It is far easier to do it at this point than to be faced with the possibility of trying to do it a few years down the road if it does become necessary! 

Many people use an embosser with their school's seal on it to "seal" the transcript. If you are submitting a transcript to a college, you may want to ask the admissions office exactly what they are looking for. If necessary, you can have an embosser made for your school; we sell embossers on this page.

We've put together some helpful links to get you started:

1. Recommended Book: "The Home Scholar Total Transcript Solution" By Lee Binz, The HomeScholar. Lee is a homeschool consultant who has video and audio courses designed to empower families to homeschool through High School, and her e-book on transcripts will take the fear out of making a transcript for your homeschooled student. The book is 109 pages long and comes with FREE templates in Word and Excel that will allow you to choose the style for your transcript. One of the best things about this book is that It also comes with one month of free weekly phone consultations so you can finish your transcript quickly and skillfully.

2. Editable Transcript Form: This web page,  from Covenant College, has a link to a homeschool transcript  that may be very helpful if you are looking for some help with a "do-it-yourself" format. The link offers an editable form and a printable version. Thanks to one of our customers for sending us this useful link!  (Note: Homeschool Diploma.com is not affiliated with and does not endorse Covenant College. We provide this link for your information.)

3. Ann Zeise's A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling site offers this page about the High School Transcript.  This is a good place to begin!

4. Homeschool Central's High School area has this page with basic information and some additional links for those planning to write a transcript.

5. Sample transcript from Barb Shelton's Homeschool Oasis site: here is a great example of a homeschool transcript, complete with information about the pertinent state statutes. This page opens as a Word document, so you can save it on your computer and use it as a template to fill in your own information if you'd like! Barb's book,  Senior High: A Home-designed Form+U+La, also contains helpful information about creating a a transcript for your student.