^^^
That sounds like a “report card”…not a transcript. those computer print-outs that we get from schools for each marking period are not transcripts.
““I tend to think NMSC would not deactivate a link until official announcements are made in February.””
Maybe…and maybe not. It would seem to me that once a student is determined to be “rejected” something triggers to send out the notice and then their account would somehow change (if there is to be a change.) but, maybe a change never occurs?
Our official transcript includes name and other personal info (birthdate, address, etc), as well as total credits earned to date, weighted GPA, unweighted GPA, rank, SAT scores and ACT scores, as well as the complete listing of classes below (that takes up most of the transcript). For the classes, they are broken out by year, and include the name, the grade as a percentage only, and the credits earned for the course. Just that one final grade per course. So the semester courses are listed as 0.5 credits, with that semester grade, which as others have pointed out is really the final grade. But the halftime grades for the full year courses are not seen.
You have the right to a copy of your student’s transcript. It may be an “unofficial transcript”, but it should otherwise be identical to the “official transcript” that would be sent directly from your school’s registrar to a college, scholarship administrator or employer. Most, but not all, transcripts show ACT, SAT, and mandatory statewide test scores.
So, if any of you do not know what is on your student’s transcript, order one! I, like @PAMom21, order one every semester and check that it is accurate. In 12 years of high school (that’s 3 kids - not one kid who took 12 years to graduate), we have found 3 mistakes that I recall. One was a middle school grade that should have counted for high school credit not shown, one was an honors class shown as on-level, and the last one was a final transcript showing that my son graduated under the “recommended” rather than the “distinguished” graduation program. A friend’s daughter’s transcript showed an unwanted grade for a class she had taken pass-fail.
Oh gosh I hope that is the case. I’ve assumed that My Backpack (school’s grade reporting website) is the transcript that was sent to NMSC. If only final grades were reported, S might be ok. I don’t think I can stomach asking the GC about it, though. She acts like this whole NMF thing is nothing but a pain in the you know what for her.
Curious, how would a high school know a student’s SAT or ACT scores?
I assume the scores are reported to the HS since the student has to disclose his HS as part of the registration process. My son’s first ACT score was on his transcript. Some of the schools he applied to accepted the score and did not require it be sent to them directly.
For us at least, those scores were “super scored”, which gave a quick and nice shot of both (ACT/SAT) for us, even though we only paid to send the SAT scores. No state test scores, because we were in transition. Unbelievably crazy hoops there, but water under the bridge. I’m assuming every local has this but our transcript shows the old state test, and 0’s in every category. I hope no one holds that against him, as he did quite well with the hoop jumping on the new tests that aren’t shown.
I made it a point to touch base with our GC 4 years ago for D1 and again this year for D2 and let the GC (politely of course) know that NMF status was worth $130K+ to our family and that I was going to be their new best friend and shadow throughout the process until we knew every “i” was dotted and every “t” was crossed. Luckily…I’m not easy to ignore. :-@
I feel horrible for those who have received bad news this week, and am keeping positive thoughts for those with concerns. Not knowing from one year to the next what might or might not put a student “on the bubble” grade-wise really stinks. My guess (and it’s completely a guess) is that the variations from year to year are driven by how many Semifinalists don’t advance because of “administrivia” issues…incomplete paperwork, no/too low SAT score, etc. Since NMSC wants to keep their final numbers at roughly 15K out of 16K advancing, the “strictness” of the grade component might get tighter if fewer SFs fall victim to paperwork issues. Who knows? :-??
@intparent When you register for the ACT and SAT test, you put what high school you attend…and they get a copy of your scores. The GC gets these “score stickies” and they get plastered on your record.
I guess if you didn’t want your school to get them, you could indicate that you’re home schooled.
No rejection letter in NM tonight.
@mom2collegekids, I feel like I have seen threads out here before. I think that is really not helpful for schools to do that (our kids’ independent private would never have done this). It sort of eliminates the benefit of score choice. Both of my kids chose to send SATs and not their ACT score. High schools shouldn’t be making that choice. But that is not the topic of this thread…
I would assume that the transcript shows the grades for grading periods that count towards the GPA. For example, in our school district, the students get grades on a report card for six 6-week grading periods, and they get progress reports between the 6-week report cards. Those grades do not get calculated into the GPA. Only the semester grades are figured into the GPA, and only those are shown on the transcript. Many students switch classes at the semester (switch between Honors and On-Level, drop a class not needed for graduation, or switch from Athletics for one sport to Athletics for their next sport). So grades must be on a semester, not full-year, basis. But I recommend you have your student order an “unofficial transcript” as soon as possible. By law, you are entitled to it.
Having said that, I can tell you that for class of 2010 NMSFs, the school completed a form with the student’s grades shown as a number grade. The form provided for space for 4 “terms” and a final grade, but explicitly stated to only complete “Terms that Apply”. For a school on a quarter system, all 4 spaces could be completed. For our school, only terms 1 and 2 were completed. Those were the number grades (not letter grades) for the first and second semesters. No “Final” grades were submitted by our school. NOTE: Transcripts were NOT sent to NMSC. The grades were submitted by the school on the form. Each class had to be marked if it was honors of any type (GT, Honors, AP, etc). AND there was NO place to input 12th grade. The form had places for 9th, 10th and 11th grades.
I do not believe this has changed. I’ve been through this 3 times, and I have copies of the entire form submitted for my class of 2010 son. The only change in the application seems to be that now the student submits some of it online.
Ugh now we are going in the wrong direction. If quarter grades are reported, S is toast. I emailed GC for copy of transcript. By the time I get it, confirmations will probably be out. 9 am in Miami and my stomach already hurts.
Almost 10am here in OH and my stomach has not stopped hurting. I feel your pain @Cshecmia. I will be glad for Sunday and a break from the mail delivery. No pain, no gain, right?
@barfly that sounds a bit labor intensive…not sure that’s right.
There are schools that have over 100 NMSF…surely the GC isn’t hand entering all 4 quarters of grades and writing down each class for all those students.
Having been thru that sort of thing for my son’s med school apps, I know how time intensive that is, so I can’t imagine NMCorp requiring that schools hand-enter each class, each quarter grade, and a final grade. That would take a GC too much time if the school has even more than a couple of NMSFs
You guys are killing me lol
I think Barfly is correct. I had a discussion with a homeschool mom about this last year and she said the same thing, She had to fill out a form with grades not send a transcript. Yes, it’s labor intensive for the GC but much easier for national merit folks since each school has different grading scales and formats their transcripts differently.
Our GPA’s are updated at the semester, but only with half year courses. If a kid has 8 credits of year long courses, his GPA won’t change (though his class rank might, depending what other students took.) I’m pretty sure an actual transcript went out with our application, as the school was working on a cover letter to explain some unusual situations.
For those of us still waiting, and hoping not to get that letter today, I just want to say that I’m thinking of you - not just of my kid. Especially for the students who are posting (or lurking) on this thread, you are in my thoughts today.
At this point, I’m praying for the grace to accept the outcome if a letter is in the mail today. I need to find that within myself so I can support my son on his journey. He has already made it so far, and I don’t want him to feel he has “failed” - because he hasn’t. Hopefully I can set a good example for him, and that’s what I’m praying for today. But I need a lot of grace because I’m not usually a “good sport” kind of person. For us, it’s really all about the free in-state tuition associated w/NMF. So if my DS had all-around great options otherwise, I would not be nearly as stressed as I am right now.
It’s hours until our mail arrives, but I’ll check this thread for updates throughout the day. Thanks to those who are hanging in there with those of us who are waiting.
@Barfly, @3scoutsmom, you are correct. I am a home schooled student, and my parents didn’t need to send an official transcript to NMSC. There were columns where you filled out each course and grade - by quarter, semester, or year, whichever the person writing it (in my case, my dad, the “principal”) chose. I believe a GC could do it any of those ways.