OH GOD NO SOMETHING WENT WRONG!

[biochemgirl67]

I'm mildly freaking out!  I went to go check my statuses and on my UCSF BMS application it said my transcript has not been attached.  WHHHHHYYYYYYY.  So I emailed the guy that they said to email last night and the BMS program this morning with the file and an explanation.  I'm really unhappy.  This is horrible.    There's no time to mail it with the holiday and I'm worried that now they won't look at my application.  Any wisdom or support would be helpful.  It'll all work out, right?  I didn't just kill my application to one of my top choices?

[Neuro PolarBear]

I wouldn't worry. On their website they say you can scan an official copy and upload it, so if you email that to the admissions office like you already did I'm sure they'll be okay with it. Most programs don't ask for an official one until you've been admitted.

[TakeruK]

Don't freak out! I know it sounds scary but it will probably be fine.

For UCSC, I mailed my transcripts about a month before the due date but a few days after the due date, it still showed "not attached". I wrote them an email and they said that it's an issue with the computer system. I have two middle names that is normally spelled with just a space in between them, but somehow, the computer was expecting a hyphen (or just one of the names). Since my name was not an exact character-by-character match with my transcript, the computer is unable to recognize it. They apologized for the confusion because they got my transcripts weeks ago and placed it in the correct file, however, it's apparently impossible to correct it on the computer system (and also no notification was sent!).

UCSC also told me that basically the online application tracking thing is not reliable and actually does not always reflect the actual status. They use similar software to a lot of other schools so I am guessing this is likely a widespread thing. I did notice that sometimes the information on the application status website is not correct/up to date (e.g. a prof might have already contacted me with a decision but the application status still says "pending" etc.)

[biochemgirl67]

And now there is more drama.  I did not see the "send in 2 hard copy transcripts" to the Stanford Biosciences office.  It's not going to get there in time.  I'm so so mad at myself.  This is horrible.

[smilefreak]

4 minutes ago, biochemgirl67 said:

And now there is more drama.  I did not see the "send in 2 hard copy transcripts" to the Stanford Biosciences office.  It's not going to get there in time.  I'm so so mad at myself.  This is horrible.

It's is going to be fine, they understand these things happen that's why they want they want the unofficial ones on the website. The only school I have heard about that does autorrejects because of something like this is harvard.

Wish you the best. I just sent my official GRE scores  (they took friggin ages to mark it )out yesterday and when I found out this it help me lax a bit.

[biochemgirl67]

1 hour ago, smilefreak said:

It's is going to be fine, they understand these things happen that's why they want they want the unofficial ones on the website. The only school I have heard about that does autorrejects because of something like this is harvard.

Wish you the best. I just sent my official GRE scores  (they took friggin ages to mark it )out yesterday and when I found out this it help me lax a bit.

Oh I hope so.  They were super nasty on the website and same "critical" like five times about getting things in.  Hopefully my home university will work with me or they will.  I'm praying to every deity known to mankind and hoping one has TRANSCRIPT POWERS.  It's like I can't win with these California schools.

[TakeruK]

Good luck! It might help to know that in practice, as long as your materials get into your file before the committee reviews it, then it should be okay. Usually, the admin staff puts these together and the faculty on the committee does not know when the stuff arrives. Of course, some schools might penalize late material with a note attached to it but at this point, there is not much you can do! Usually, websites are stricter in wording than their real policies because they really want things in ASAP. 

Some schools will allow you to use expedited shipping on transcripts for a fee. I think one of my old schools had an option of paying like $25 extra to get next day shipping. Or, you can get it yourself and take it to the nearest FedEx and pay their super high fees to get it there really fast!

PS I think it's really weird and ridiculous that they want hard copy transcripts for just the application, and not only that, they want TWO copies?? If I was applying to that school, I would have had to spend $80 on transcripts alone (plus the cost to mail them internationally). I'm not at Stanford and at our school, we're actively working to lower financial barriers to applications where possible and this would seem like an easy way to do so!

[biochemgirl67]

UPDATE: I got my home university to FedEx out two copies to Stanford... thanks extra $25 fee.  Stanford said that because I had the upload, my file would be reviewed.  And while it's a relief, it's also ticking me off that I have to have a meltdown over 2 official transcript hard copies when you are required to upload an official copy.