<li>The common app demands an “official transcript” sent from each high school I’ve attended. Does this mean I have to contact each high school I went to and get a transcript, or can I just mail the universities a transcript I already have lying around?</li>
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<p>I ask this because I attended one high school for a year that was very bad, with some of the most incompetent staff I’ve ever seen, and if I call up the school and ask them to send transcripts to 7 colleges, 5 of which they’ve probably never heard of, the transcript might not ever be sent.</p>
<li><p>If I send various aspects of my application before the main application is finished, will that matter? I mean, assuming I send my SAT scores or something right now, will they just file them away under my name or something to that effect until they get the main application?</p></li>
<li><p>Out of Northwestern, Cornell, Chicago, UVa, and UMich, which will care more about my essay? (I know Chicago does, but not sure about the others.)</p></li>
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<li><p>Yes, you have to have sealed and signed transcripts sent–sorry–and usually they have to be sent directly (although you can call and ask the colleges about this if you have one lying around unopened).</p></li>
<li><p>They are supposed to hold them for the main application–but lots of schools mess this up–so I’d wait and send everything at the same time.</p></li>
<li><p>The school that you are most “borderline” at will care the most about the essay.
If you are an automatic reject, for example, at Northwestern, but right on the cusp at Univ of Michigan, then Michigan will read the essay, whereas Northwestern might not. Since you didn’t list your stats, I can’t tell which of the four schools you listed would be the most likely in your case.</p></li>
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<p>A slightly different POV on #2, we’ve never had any problem with sending things separately. If you’re sending at everything at once make sure you leave plenty of time for things like transcripts and test scores to make it by the deadline as they have more institutional steps to go through than you do in pushing the button on the CA or sending your packet via overnight mail. Many schools give you online access to see which parts of your file they have received. Also, to keep track of the HS transcripts, give the HS a stamped, self-addressed postcard to put in with the packet they send to each college. On the postcard, ask the college to send it back when they get the materials. Be sure to put the name of the college on each postcard so that you know which ones have received your materials.</p>
<p>My problem is, if I can’t send things with a huge gap, #2 conflicts with #1. I’m guessing that this school will take around a few weeks to correctly send all of the transcripts because it took them a few days just to correctly send a local high school their transcript.</p>
<p>Ok, first, you actually don’t need to send a transcript from each HS. I know it says that, but I contacted every admissions office for the schools I’m applying to, and they said it meant they had to have EVERY year of HS. So if you went to 4 diff high schools (like I did) they don’t want 4 transcripts, they want a final transcript that has all 4 on it.</p>
<p>Also, it DOES have to be official, but it does not have to be sent from the school. I too had an incompetent guidance counselor at the HS I graduated from, and instead of asking for them to be sent to X, Y and Z University, I simply had her sign and seal a stack of HS transcripts and send them to me. I now have a stack of HS transcripts to send out, each one official in it’s own envelope, with a sticker sealing it which reads “This is an official transcript. If seal is removed or broken, records are no longer considered official.” Which I can send out myself. Again, none of the schools I am applying to have had a problem with this. (Including UVA and Cornell, two of your schools.)</p>
<p>Ah, thought it would be. That same situation freaked me out too…imagine attempting to contact 4 different high schools to have each one send transcripts to 9 different schools. What are the chances of all 36 making it where they need to be on time?</p>
<p>Oh, and just to clarify, the HS transcripts were double-enveloped. It’s 9 seperate envelopes, each with the sticker to seal it, and then I had to put each envelope into another envelope to send it out.</p>