Hello everyone,
I'm a high school graduate applying to Waseda SILS for the upcoming year (April '17). I graduated in June and so I called my high school's office this morning to request a copy of my transcript so I could finish my application. I've included the information in the latest SILS admissions guide that I am referring to:
Both solutions seem kind of iffy because:
1) Even though I would have a stamped letter explanation, the transcript would still be unofficial, and I don't know if SILS would accept that.
2) The SILS application checklist explicitly states that an applicant need to include an official transcript for their application to be considered complete and ready for review.
Although I emailed the SILS office about it, I'm not sure if I'll get a response on time since their website says that they are on summer vacation from the 10th - 21st.
What should I do? Should I go ahead and have my school mail in an official transcript (I'm panicking a bit because the application period starts on the 22nd; the day after the SILS office's break ends), or should I include my unofficial transcript + registrar's letter in my application package and send that in?
I'm a high school graduate applying to Waseda SILS for the upcoming year (April '17). I graduated in June and so I called my high school's office this morning to request a copy of my transcript so I could finish my application. I've included the information in the latest SILS admissions guide that I am referring to:
Submit a school transcript issued by your high school (or equivalent education institution) for the last three years of school (corresponding to three years of high school education in Japan).
* Students who have yet to graduated should submit a school transcript with school grades for the period until the first term (semester) of the last year of school.
* If you have been enrolled in more than one school, submit the school transcripts of all the schools that you have been enrolled in. If the school cannot issue the school transcript because you have not been at the school long enough, submit a document issued by the school that certifies so.
Be sure to present original documents.
* If you cannot submit an original document, ask the Admissions Office of SILS, your high school, or another appropriate office officially approved by the government to authenticate a copy of the document with the original before presenting the copy. Certificates must be prepared in Japanese or English.
* If the certificate extends over two or more pages (or both-sided), all pages (or both sides) of the certificate will need the school stamp or the signature of the person issuing the document.
As you can see, students are required to send in a high school transcript along with their other admissions documents. However, when I asked my school's secretary for one, she informed me that the school cannot give students official copies (any transcripts that students receive will have "unofficial" stamped across it). After I told her that I needed to have an official one sent for application purposes, she said that she could either give me a letter (stamped with the school seal) explaining that students are not allowed to be given official transcripts and that Waseda is free to contact my school for more information, OR I could ask for my school to mail an official one through DHL. * Students who have yet to graduated should submit a school transcript with school grades for the period until the first term (semester) of the last year of school.
* If you have been enrolled in more than one school, submit the school transcripts of all the schools that you have been enrolled in. If the school cannot issue the school transcript because you have not been at the school long enough, submit a document issued by the school that certifies so.
Be sure to present original documents.
* If you cannot submit an original document, ask the Admissions Office of SILS, your high school, or another appropriate office officially approved by the government to authenticate a copy of the document with the original before presenting the copy. Certificates must be prepared in Japanese or English.
* If the certificate extends over two or more pages (or both-sided), all pages (or both sides) of the certificate will need the school stamp or the signature of the person issuing the document.
Both solutions seem kind of iffy because:
1) Even though I would have a stamped letter explanation, the transcript would still be unofficial, and I don't know if SILS would accept that.
2) The SILS application checklist explicitly states that an applicant need to include an official transcript for their application to be considered complete and ready for review.
Although I emailed the SILS office about it, I'm not sure if I'll get a response on time since their website says that they are on summer vacation from the 10th - 21st.
What should I do? Should I go ahead and have my school mail in an official transcript (I'm panicking a bit because the application period starts on the 22nd; the day after the SILS office's break ends), or should I include my unofficial transcript + registrar's letter in my application package and send that in?