Supporting Documents - To submit exchange university transcripts or not?

[bkchng]

Hi!

I'm an international student who will be applying to Georgia Tech for the M.S. (ECE) program.

Actually I've sent 2 emails over the past 2 weeks to GT's grad admissions, but no replies so far so I'm trying my luck here as well.

Here goes:

I had attended an exchange program overseas for a term (~4 months). However, my home university grades "exchange" courses on a pass/fail basis, meaning that I'll only see the pass or fail grade on my home university's official transcript and not the actual grades. And on GT's FAQ, it states: "Note: Transcripts must be provided for any college/university attended for at least one academic year.". Do you guys have any idea if this means that I probably do not need to send my exchange university transcript with the other supporting documents?

I'm asking about this because I only have a copy of the original exchange university transcript with me, and to request for a few more (for other applications) takes time and lots of money.

Thanks a lot for reading! Would be great to hear from someone who has been in my situation

[BlueSwedeShoes]

Hi!

I'm an international student who will be applying to Georgia Tech for the M.S. (ECE) program.

Actually I've sent 2 emails over the past 2 weeks to GT's grad admissions, but no replies so far so I'm trying my luck here as well.

Here goes:

I had attended an exchange program overseas for a term (~4 months). However, my home university grades "exchange" courses on a pass/fail basis, meaning that I'll only see the pass or fail grade on my home university's official transcript and not the actual grades. And on GT's FAQ, it states: "Note: Transcripts must be provided for any college/university attended for at least one academic year.". Do you guys have any idea if this means that I probably do not need to send my exchange university transcript with the other supporting documents?

I'm asking about this because I only have a copy of the original exchange university transcript with me, and to request for a few more (for other applications) takes time and lots of money.

Thanks a lot for reading! Would be great to hear from someone who has been in my situation

I'm in a similar position, except I attended an exchange institution for a full year and all universities I'm applying to now requires a transcript from each post-secondary institution attended, no matter for how long.

For you though, I'd say it's your call. It seems like they don't require it, and if the courses show up there won't be any "holes" in your transcript anyway. I can only see two reasons for sending the original exchange transcript, and that is 1) just to be safe, and 2) if you have good grades you want to show off.

I personally would probably send it anyway, but that's only because I'm paranoid about these things.

Edited November 11, 2009 by waylance

[takshila]

I am an international student and after completing 2 years in the 1st (foreign) institution, I transferred to an American University.

In this case, I am sending transcripts from both places, though I spent a considerably longer period of time at the foreign institution than either of you did, I pretty much knew from the beginning that I had to do it.

But I really don't know about the 4 month thing.

You might want to email and ask them , they'll do a better job and clarifying.

[Pamphilia]

It depends on the policy of each program to which you're applying. I also spent six months studying abroad. My classes were "exchange" credits, so they were transferred pass/fail and just the credit showed up on my home university's transcript; in fact, I never even knew what my grades were in those classes. I emailed and called every program I was applying to to confirm whether or not I needed send the overseas transcripts. Most of them said no (none of the credit counted toward my major, and I was only there for six months, and my home university accepted the credit). However, five programs did say YES, it's their policy that I must get the transcripts sent. This was a huuuuuge pain because I don't think my overseas school has ever even heard of the mysterious "interwebs," but I got the transcripts sent to me (with six extras, just in case...I don't want to have to do that again).

You really ought to get in contact with each program to find out. I'm even taking a single elementary language class this semester at a local college (it's really not part of my "undergraduate record"--I graduated 2.5 years ago) but two programs require that I get that transcript sent too, even though it won't be ready for more than a month after the application deadlines. Some schools are just finicky about this stuff.

As for George Tech specifically--they tell you right there that you probably don't need to send the transcripts. You did NOT attend for "at least one academic year," you attended for half an academic year. However, if you are anxious and want to find out directly, and they won't answer your emails, CALL. If you're international, use Skype. It will cost you like, two cents to call an international land line. That's what I did to get in contact with my exchange university (after a good tip from someone on this forum). Just make sure you figure out the time difference

[bkchng]

that's really useful information. thanks a lot! I'll probably give them a call (via skype) before sending my documents over.