A college transcript is a permanent and complete record of your academic achievement at a place of higher learning. It lists the courses you've taken and the grades you achieved in each.
Students request transcripts for a variety of reasons. Those who are transferring from one school to another often must provide a transcript to qualify for admission and receive credit for courses already taken. Additionally, students may be required to provide a transcript when applying for an internship.
Recent graduates often need transcripts to prove their claims to potential employers with regard to institutions, courses of study, degrees and honors.
Because transcripts contain such private information and bear so much weight as a measure of academic achievement, colleges guard them carefully.
Policies vary by university, but in general, the college registrar processes the transcripts. You must apply for them in person, by mail or online; many colleges refuse to accept requests made by telephone.
Transcripts can take days or more to process, especially around busy times such as the ends of semesters, when students are applying for jobs, internships and transfers to other schools.
There are two types of transcripts: Unofficial and official. Unofficial transcripts are provided to you for your personal records. Official transcripts are sent by the school directly to the agency, employer or school to which you are applying. They often carry the college seal and/or other markings to prove their authenticity. When a job, internship or college admission is at stake, usually only an official transcript will suffice.
Transcript fraud is widespread--especially on the Internet, where it has become a for-profit cottage industry (albeit an illegal and unethical one). Much as money counterfeiters continually find ways to outdo the technology used by government mints, transcript counterfeiters use advanced technology to give their products the appearance of authenticity. This is the reason many employers, colleges and other agencies accept only official transcripts.