Transcripts

[omg]

Can I mail my transcripts on my own at the post office or do my undergrad and grad schools have to mail them for me to be considered official? Thanks!

[GeoDUDE!]

They are usually sealed and sent by your registrar to be offical. 

[omg]

Does that mean that I have to ask each of my schools to send them for me? What if I need to send my paper LORs?

Would it be alright to send numerous packages instead of one package containing all my transcripts from undergrad and grad school?

[GeoDUDE!]

Your Letters should be sent directly from your letter writers (electronically or by snail mail). This is especially true if you have waived your right to see them (which you should have).

[fuzzylogician]

As long as the envelopes are sealed and signed, it's normally not a problem if you send them yourself. Most of the time recommenders will mail their own letters but I did have one who wanted me to mail everything for him, and the schools I applied to didn't have a problem with it. 

 

If you're mailing in materials, I think it's better to send everything together to minimize the chance that things will get lost or misfiled, but in general you can send the materials however you like - all together or each separate or anything in between. Each time something arrives, someone in admissions will add it to your file until it is complete.

[omg]

Thanks so much! I guess one package will be best!

[TakeruK]

All of the schools that I applied to wanted transcripts mailed directly from the issuing school (this is also less work for you). In addition, the one school that wanted paper LORs (I didn't apply to this school in the end) wanted me to print out the form, sign the waiver, then mail it to my LOR writer then they fill in the LOR form and then they should mail it directly to the school.

 

For some of the fellowship applications, they just wanted one single package per applicant so I had to gather all the paper LORs and transcripts and send them in. Some fellowships required sealed LORs and transcripts but some did not. 

 

This is another case of "it depends". So, you should definitely check with each school for their own policies. They should be online but you can also email/call them to check. If you do have the option to mail them yourself, it might be worth the extra effort to just mail one single package, as fuzzy suggested. However, either way should be okay!

[fuzzylogician]

All of the schools that I applied to wanted transcripts mailed directly from the issuing school (this is also less work for you). In addition, the one school that wanted paper LORs (I didn't apply to this school in the end) wanted me to print out the form, sign the waiver, then mail it to my LOR writer then they fill in the LOR form and then they should mail it directly to the school.

 

Wow, I am so glad none of my schools wanted that. I had a hard enough time explaining to my school what sealed envelopes were (ended up actually doing it myself - was invited into the office, stamped the seal on each envelope, and had the secretary sign on top--she really had no idea what I wanted from her)! They definitely would not have agreed to mail transcripts for me internationally. It would not have been cheap, and it's just not a service they provide.