I recorded two types of early college credit on my kids’ high school transcripts. I will discuss the successful ways we recorded the credits. Some of this was trial and error for us. You may find, like we did, a request by a college to modify a transcript to meet their specific requirements. Always check in with a college for advice on how to record various types of credit. Some colleges provide transcript advice on their websites for homeschooled students. We had our transcripts kicked back by the community college several times along with how they wanted it “fixed.” This college now posts helpful information about homeschool transcripts. If you are just getting started and want to know the basic information that needs to be on a homeschool transcript read my post Homeschool Transcript Checklist.
CREDIT BY EXAM
I listed the credit that my kids earned through CLEP exams as honors courses if they invested the required number of hours of study for that designation. Read my post Transcripts: How to Calculate Credits. To highlight that my kids passed CLEP exams in various subjects, I added a table of the CLEP exams passed on the second page of the transcript. For more information about this and to see a sample transcript with CLEP credits on it, read my post CLEP on the High School Transcript. There are other types of exams that can earn college credit that we did not try. They are DSST, Dantes, ICE, Cambridge, and ECE.
If your student has passed exams for credit, you should also request that the company that manages the type of exam taken (e.g., College Board manages CLEP exams) send an official transcript to the school your child is applying to.
COLLEGE COURSES
I added the college level courses in which an actual grade was assigned to the high school transcript too. Since my state of NC allows double-dipping, I entered the college course and the letter grade my child received directly in the tile for the grade level it was taken to take the place of a high school level course. For example, when my kids took English III and Math 171 in the 11th grade, I entered those courses in 11th grade slots with those titles because they were substituting for high school level courses in English and math. I also added parentheses after each course to indicate where it was taken (e.g., Wake Tech). This format was accepted by the colleges they applied to. Different colleges may request a different format. Besides entering colleges courses on the transcript, you will be required to have the college where those credits were earned send an official transcript to the colleges your student is applying to.
CERTIFIED AP COURSE
My kids did not take any certified AP courses. But as I understand, this type of credit can be entered on the transcript with the AP designation (e.g., AP Biology) if your child took a certified AP course.
NONCERTIFIED AP COURSE
Students can sit for an AP exam even if they do not participate in a certified AP course. They will still receive the college credits. But the course should not be designated as “AP” on the transcript. If my children had taken AP exams without a certified AP course, I would have recorded the course on the transcript as an honors course like I do with CLEP exams. As I do with CLEP exams, I would record the exam along with its score in a table on the second page of the transcript.
A Basic High School Transcript Template
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Creating a transcript that will be acceptable to a college may be a trial-and-error process because homeschoolers don’t necessarily follow the traditional pathway and parents have limited experience crafting them. A college administrator may ask you to modify your transcript. Always research a college’s website and see if it has recommendations for homeschool transcripts. Because a college administrator may have questions about your transcript, it’s a great idea to submit the application early. If your transcript needs to be modified, don’t sweat it. Thank the administrator for the advice and for the opportunity to modify it.