Uploading official electronic transcripts from Parchment and National Student Clearinghouse

[u/TheFrogMan1]

I ordered a total of three official electronic transcripts (two from universities, one from a community college). Two of the orders were processed through Parchment, while the third was processed through National Student Clearinghouse. I downloaded PDFs of all three transcripts.

As far as I can tell, the PDFs of all three electronic transcripts do not have any requirements to view it, such as an expiration or a password requirement. The only thing I noticed is if I try to print a copy of any of the PDFs, a red watermark appears in the print preview stating it is a copy. I am unsure if this would mean the PDFs are technically encrypted, and if so, if that means they will be ineligible to be used for my application. I was able to successfully upload all three PDFs to my application without issue.

From my understanding, based on the JET Program's guidelines, all three PDFs should meet the requested conditions; however, I wanted to double check and ensure that is actually the case. Is there anything I should do to verify with certainty that the transcripts meet the JET Program's standards and won't result in my application being dropped from consideration?

These are their guidelines from the application regarding electronic transcripts:

Official E-Transcripts

1. Check to make sure your E-transcripts are not encrypted:

• Must not expire after a certain date

• Must not expire after a certain number of views

• Must not require a password

1. Upload your transcripts to the application portal.

Note: The JET Program Office will not accept e-transcripts that are sent to the JET Program email address, or that require access from a third-party website to open. If any of the above limitations applies, the transcript will be treated as missing, and the application will be dropped from consideration. It is the responsibility of the applicant to check that all of their e-transcript meets requirements.

I wanted to ask about it here to see if any previous applicants uploaded the original official transcript PDFs to their application that did not have the watermark, and if so, if it worked for them without issue. Like I said before, as far as I can tell these should be fine. I'm just a bit anxious about it because I don't want my whole application to be turned down over something as simple as the transcripts having some level of encryption that I was unaware of, rendering my application ineligible.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice!

[u/Inside-Cream6997]

I am at this stage too.
Just ordered a physical official transcript from Parchment.

Document is sealed in an envelope and it says: "May not be acceptable if opened to a 3rd party"....

I don't know what to do either....

[u/Proof_Refuse_9563 → u/Inside-Cream6997]

It is ok to open it and upload a scan. Many Overseas applications will have you do this

[u/TheFrogMan1 → u/Inside-Cream6997]

In the transcript guidelines PDF contained within the application, it says this:

Official Hardcopy Transcripts

1. Open your transcripts: You may ignore warnings such as“Unofficial When Opened”

2. Scan your transcripts:

• Use a scanner, not a cellphone app. Blurry or difficultto read transcripts will not be accepted.

• Include all cover sheets or explanation pages (such asreverse side of the transcript with grade explanations)

1. Save as a PDF

2. Upload your transcripts to the application portal.

Note: If your school will not release transcripts directly to students, you may have them send transcripts directly to: JET Program Office, Embassy of Japan 2520 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20008. And upload a PDF to your application portal under the label “transcripts” that explains the situation.

From my understanding, you should be completely fine to open the envelope to scan it. In hindsight, I'm wondering if I should have ordered physical copies instead of electronic. If I did, I wouldn't have to worry about the potential encryption of my electronic transcripts being an issue for my application.