For high school seniors headed to Rutgers in the Fall, submission of their final transcripts—the last step in the application process—has just been made easier. As part of the university’s transition to the Common App admitted students’ final high school transcripts can be submitted directly through the application portal. The university anticipates receiving tens of thousands of final transcripts by the end of June.
“When they apply initially, students submit what’s called a Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR), and that’s what Rutgers uses to help make its decision whether to accept an application,” says JoAnn Molnar, project manager for the Scarlet Journey project, which is part of the overall Cornerstone initiative. “But this is the final, formal transcript.”
Although, in most cases, the receipt of the final transcript simply validates the information submitted on the SRAR, it is an important part of the admissions process. That’s because, occasionally, there are discrepancies between a SRAR and its corresponding final transcript.
“Sometimes it’s just a mistake,” says Molnar, “but there have been rare instances of fraudulent earlier transcripts.”
Having final high school transcripts on the Common App benefits both high school guidance counselors and the students they serve, says Molnar. “It eases the application process workload for guidance counselors and makes the process more efficient for student applicants,” she notes.
Molnar adds that the university anticipates receiving tens of thousands of final transcripts by the end of June, as high schools around the country complete the academic year.