How to deal with conflicting information between grad admissions page and subject page (specifically Stanford)

[jd12345]

Hi - I'm a UK student applying for the PhD program in maths at Stanford. On the math page here it states two hard copy transcripts must be sent by mail by 1st December. I did not realise this until today, since I followed the instructions on the graduate admissions page here which says you're allowed to send secure electronically-delivered transcripts instead - this is in fact the system my university uses; they do not do 'official' hard copy transcripts, as they are only validated electronically. I can't call Stanford as all offices are shut, and if I am to send the hard copies I must do so tomorrow, at a cost of at least £50. Is it safe to just use my electronic system and not mail the hard copies? I can hardly be blamed for following the official website, surely? Thanks in advance.

Edited November 25, 2016 by jd12345

[DBear]

I've had this happen to me a lot - you should email the program/ admissions office. Better to pay for a quick international call or spend some time emailing than waste money on hard copies or get rejected for insufficient materials. If I was in charge of admissions, I'd probably feel bad for putting out inaccurate info, but would still blame the applicant in the end for not checking. 

I've found that for some Universities, the program's requirements take precedence while at others, the Graduate School or Uni's general guidelines take precedence so there's no sure way other than contacting them. I'm also international so I always contact them while muttering prayers that they won't want official transcripts til later... Good luck!

[jd12345]

13 minutes ago, DBear said:

I've had this happen to me a lot - you should email the program/ admissions office. Better to pay for a quick international call or spend some time emailing than waste money on hard copies or get rejected for insufficient materials. If I was in charge of admissions, I'd probably feel bad for putting out inaccurate info, but would still blame the applicant in the end for not checking. 

I've found that for some Universities, the program's requirements take precedence while at others, the Graduate School or Uni's general guidelines take precedence so there's no sure way other than contacting them. I'm also international so I always contact them while muttering prayers that they won't want official transcripts til later... Good luck!

Thanks for the response. I've tried calling but everything is shut due to Thanksgiving, and now it's the weekend so they'll be closed again. This means I won't be able to get in contact until Monday afternoon (UK time), by which point it will be impossible for them to receive the transcript on time. The other issue is that I don't actually have access to official hard copy transcripts! If I do end up mailing them something, it will be an unofficial one done by my maths dept, since my official one can only be accessed electronically (it's digitally signed etc.)

[DBear]

5 minutes ago, jd12345 said:

If I do end up mailing them something, it will be an unofficial one done by my maths dept, since my official one can only be accessed electronically (it's digitally signed etc.)

Argh.. sounds frustrating! If that's the case, I'd send the official, electronic transcripts and then email the department notifying them that as your uni does not do hard copies, you followed the grad school's instructions. How ever it is you decide to communicate it with them, I'd suggest to be careful and try not to sound like you're blaming them for conflicting info/ letting them know you didn't see this earlier

[jd12345]

26 minutes ago, DBear said:

Argh.. sounds frustrating! If that's the case, I'd send the official, electronic transcripts and then email the department notifying them that as your uni does not do hard copies, you followed the grad school's instructions. How ever it is you decide to communicate it with them, I'd suggest to be careful and try not to sound like you're blaming them for conflicting info/ letting them know you didn't see this earlier

Very frustrating! Find it a bit ridiculous they still require hard copies but whatever. I'll follow your advice and keep trying to get through to them, thanks again. 

[TakeruK]

Call the department on Monday morning in Stanford when they reopen. Explain the situation and ask if they still want hard copy transcripts and if it will be acceptable that they are unofficial. If they do want them, then use the fastest courier service possible (you can probably overnight it). A check with FedEx shows that you can send something from the UK on Nov 28 using FedEx International Priority and have it arrive at Stanford by Nov 29, 4pm for 48 GBP. Even if you don't send it until Nov 29 in the UK, then it will still arrive by Nov 30. So, if you're not able to make contact with Stanford until Monday evening (your time), it's still possible to get it to them on time.

The price for expedited shipping is high but if Stanford is a school you really want to get in, it's worth it in the long run. But making contact with them might buy you more time, which might allow you to use a cheaper shipping rate. Or, you might find out that since you can't get hardcopy official transcripts, they might be okay with electronic ones.

One last thing---I would not say anything that sounds like you are blaming them for the confusing directions. I understand your frustration, but the expectation is that applicants are supposed to look up both the department requirements and general university-wide requirements and ensure their application meets both standards. It's typical in the US for departments to ask for extra things on top of the official graduate school requirements.

[jd12345]

6 hours ago, TakeruK said:

Call the department on Monday morning in Stanford when they reopen. Explain the situation and ask if they still want hard copy transcripts and if it will be acceptable that they are unofficial. If they do want them, then use the fastest courier service possible (you can probably overnight it). A check with FedEx shows that you can send something from the UK on Nov 28 using FedEx International Priority and have it arrive at Stanford by Nov 29, 4pm for 48 GBP. Even if you don't send it until Nov 29 in the UK, then it will still arrive by Nov 30. So, if you're not able to make contact with Stanford until Monday evening (your time), it's still possible to get it to them on time.

The price for expedited shipping is high but if Stanford is a school you really want to get in, it's worth it in the long run. But making contact with them might buy you more time, which might allow you to use a cheaper shipping rate. Or, you might find out that since you can't get hardcopy official transcripts, they might be okay with electronic ones.

One last thing---I would not say anything that sounds like you are blaming them for the confusing directions. I understand your frustration, but the expectation is that applicants are supposed to look up both the department requirements and general university-wide requirements and ensure their application meets both standards. It's typical in the US for departments to ask for extra things on top of the official graduate school requirements.

I wasn't aware FedEx could do next business day international delivery for £50 - in that case I should be able to send something off on Tuesday to arrive on Thursday (the deadline) no problem. I will call them on Monday afternoon to check, thank you!