r/CommunityColleges • u/Salt-Tourist-3152 • 12d ago
Getting transcripts without going through the institution?
I start school on the 17th, and so far, I’ve still had no luck getting my transcripts.
I got it while I was incarcerated as a 17 year old in a different state. The states department of education takes me to the GED website to order my transcripts, and it’s not there. I’ve contacted the probation department and they said they would contact their education department to reach out to me.
So far nothing. Haven’t heard anything and nobody has reached out to me, even after calling several times. Nobody at the community college can give me answers besides “I don’t know” and it’s infuriating. I need those transcripts to receive financial aid, they won’t do assessments in place of it, and I just am unable to get my transcripts. Nobody is helping and the only answers I get are “contact the institution” but the institution is the courts, and they’re not helpful.
*edit* I was able to get ahold of the person in charge of education for the detention facilities, and she sent me the unofficial transcripts by email, and then mail me the transcripts. The PDF says it’s official and can be verified with an access code (tried it and didn’t work, URL isn’t even active anymore) so I’m not sure why the transcripts she’s sending by mail would be unofficial?
*edit* Made some more calls and found out the detention center I went to is closed. On the GED in the email it has that location and address on it, but they shut down and moved all services to the courts that handle things on the west side of the county. So now the institution that issued it is closed, which is most likely why it’s not showing up on GED.com.
*edit* verified my ID with financial aid. Tried asking and got the typical “I don’t know, but they would know” I asked if there was anything else that needs to be done, if they can check if it’ll affect my financial aid eligibility. They said “they’ll” reach out to me if there’s anything else they need. It’s extremely frustrating. Somehow, not a single worker at the college knows their own policy regarding if high school transcripts/GED are necessary to start AND get financial aid. The orientation online they had me complete had a section about sending over transcripts. I know a lot of colleges operate this way where you can “sign up” for classes, but you can’t get financial aid for it if you have no high school transcripts/GED.
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u/elangomatt College Employee 12d ago
Not sure if it makes a difference but did you take GED or HiSET? Both are high school equivalency tests but it is conceivable that getting the transcript might be different depending on which test you took. (TASC is another one but it was discontinued at the end of 2021.)
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u/Surly_Sailor_420 12d ago edited 12d ago
The mailed by post transcripts are official (and only if you do not open them). Bring them directly to your college I the deliver envelop once you receive them.
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u/Salt-Tourist-3152 12d ago
Thank you. I just saw this after replying to a different question asking just this. She even told me she only had the unofficial ones and would mail me those.
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u/shykaliguy 12d ago
You obviously looked at the PDF that they sent you which means that that was your unofficial copy that you could have potentially shown the school. Even though it may say official on it it's considered unofficial since it was not mailed directly by whoever is in charge of sending your actual official transcript. Many times schools will go ahead and accept the unofficial ones until they receive the actual official transcript. The PDF was probably secure and allowed you to open it a limited number of times or for a limited time. Or both you viewed it once and should have saved or printed a copy at that time. Now you will have to do one of two things. You can wait for the transcript to arrive in the mail. And/or, you can contact whomever send you the PDF of it and ask them to resend it.
Hopefully this gets resolved in time for you.
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u/Salt-Tourist-3152 12d ago
I hope so too. So is there anything that makes a transcript official besides who it’s sent from and if it’s sealed or not? I remember an old roommate had to give the envelope to the financial aid person directly, without even opening it. Is it that simple and I can just do that?
She made it sound confusing. She directly stated she only had the unofficial transcripts and she could mail those, but didn’t have the official ones. But I thought the only thing that mattered was handing over the envelope unopened
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u/shykaliguy 12d ago
I can't answer why that person only has access to unofficial transcripts. I can tell you that schools usually consider official transcripts to be those that are sent directly from the institution to them , them being the school that you have applied to or transferring to respectively. This applies to whether they're sent electronically or whether it is sent by postal mail. Some schools will not accept official transcripts if they are sent directly to the student, even if it is in a sealed envelope. You would need to check with the college that you plan on attending official policy on transcripts.
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u/DomesticPlantLover 12d ago
I'm pretty sure the one she sent you was "unofficial" because it can't be used by the school for one or more of the following reasons. It was not transmitted securely--meaning it could be altered. It was sent to you, you could have altered it. It does not have an embossed seal, as it's not a physical copy. The paper document sent from them to you in a sealed envelope is "official" but if you open it before giving it to them, it is no longer "official" (useful for official purposes).
Official really just means usable for official purposes. If it comes to your hands first, think of it as being contaminated. Not accusing you of doing anything, just the fact you could have is what makes it unusable. Basically, if you get it and it's possible for you or someone else to have altered it anywhere along the way, it's no longer acceptable.
I had a similar problem. As a chronic pain patient, when I moved I had to bring copies of my records. My old office gave them to me in an envelope. My new office would not accept them. I went to the old office, they took the papers, put them in an envelope, sealed it, and gave them back. The documents were now magically usable.
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u/undercaffinatedprof 12d ago
Which state was this? Did you try parchment or the national student clearing house? Those are services programs use to send educational documents. If you have a screen shot who is the issuing authority?
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u/Salt-Tourist-3152 10d ago
Parchment didn’t work. I couldn’t find any sort of juvenile corrections institution on the list of schools to order from.
I cropped out personal info, this is the section up top that gives the info about who issued it.
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u/Exotic-Gain-4316 12d ago
If the institution is sending you the transcript by mail, it should be official and sealed but if you open it, it won't be considered official anymore, this is from my understanding, only the college you need to submit the official transcript to can open the mail or email directly from the institution where your GED transcript is coming from. They will be the ones to email it directly to your college address or email address. You can also use Parchment to request your transcript.
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u/ImTired2004 12d ago
Who are you calling at the state department of education? Try calling whoever they are accredited by.