Necessary to send transcript for taking some "extra" courses at a different university?

[rolltheeurydice]

I'm not sure if this will end up being necessary, but I'm just curious if it would be expected that I send a transcript (from a different school than my undergrad institution) for a few courses that I might end up taking as prerequisites for a professional program to PhD programs (I might apply to both). I don't expect to do poorly in those classes (it will probably bring my GPA up, if anything), but sending this transcript: a.) might signal that I'm "hedging my bets" with a different program (which I would be, but I don't think that's their business, especially not at the pre-interview stage), b.) would mean I need to pay for another transcript for every program I'm applying to, which would add up.

 

What do you think? This seems to be a very different case than not sending a transcript where you had a poor academic record; I don't think a few grades in unrelated courses mean anything once you already have your degree.

Edited February 25, 2015 by rolltheeurydice

[MidwesternAloha]

Yes. There is no reason to omit information. Most schools require that you send transcripts from all institutions. It is not unique to take prereqs for a program after graduating. I sent all of mine and had a total of 4 transcripts to send to every school.

[rolltheeurydice]

Well, the reasons would be the potential for the committee to (in my opinion, unfairly) judge you for being less committed, the cost, and another thing you would need to explain in interviews if you make it that far. My reasoning is: if I actually get in to one of the programs, I won't need the prereqs anyways, but since that's not guaranteed it's good to have a contingency plan (in other words, I don't think it has anything to do with commitment but it might be perceived otherwise). Maybe I'm overestimating how negatively they would look at taking prereqs.

[MidwesternAloha]

I don't see that as being a problem. In my experience, the adcom was happier to see I had explored other career paths and KNEW I wanted to pursue this one now. It's good to have evidence that you are well rounded. They won't judge. No school wants a student who walks in and says "gosh, I've just wanted to be ____ since I was a kid!"

[rolltheeurydice]

That's kind of what I'm saying though, I think it signals the opposite of that (since you are simultaneously preparing for two different things, so it shows you haven't yet picked one with certainty). To me that's just practicality; what you choose is partially a function of where you actually get accepted, and I don't think it's bad, but admissions committees often exclude people for very arbitrary reasons (I don't want my contingency plan to be a self-fulfilling prophecy). In my case, the two things are definitely related but still different paths.

[MathCat]

It doesn't really matter how you think they might look at it. They almost always specifically state to submit transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended. If you leave one out, you could be kicked out later if they discovered it.

[BiochemMom]

I had to upload six transcripts (thanks military) to show my completion of my BS degree. In an interview, one of my interviewers commented that the amount of universities I attended proved I had tenacity and fortitude and was committed to completing my degree(s--I have an AS, BS, and complete my MS this may) regardless of my circumstances or changes.

So it's pretty obvious to me that attending multiple universities for whatever reason shows diversity and you can always use those unrelated classes to show you have diverse interests and angle it to indicate the diversity helped you grow in your current field. For example, I acted throughout high school and college in school plays--I highlighted this seemingly unrelated activity as a training situation to learn how to speak comfortably in front of large groups of people and explained how my public speaking for seminars was vastly improved due to my stage acting.

There's tons of ways you can angle something to show you're a better person/student because of it.

Don't worry! Plus if you don't include them, it would be fraudulent.

And as a side note--UGA told me that they only needed my MS official transcripts after using my unofficial to make an admissions decision.

Edited February 26, 2015 by BiochemMom