Who doesn’t want an easier way to create their homeschool student’s high school transcript? We have a simple solution: a transcript service.

I’m a homeschool parent to two young students. Naturally, I have many questions about how to best prepare them for college (if that’s what they choose to do after high school).

Homeschooling is still fairly new territory for me and my husband: We both grew up in public school, with a standardized road map to each stepping stone from kindergarten to college admissions.

The thought of creating high school transcripts for my students in a few years—from scratch—honestly makes my palms sweat. And I know it makes other homeschool parents nervous, too.

We want the best for our students, so we gather as much information as we can, as early as we can—but sometimes that’s a little overwhelming.

The DIY approach

It can be tempting to DIY everything just because we can—after all, we homeschool parents have the freedom to do that! But life gets hectic, especially when your student hits middle school (it’s generally recommended for homeschool parents to start their student’s transcript around seventh or eighth grade).

Between school work, extracurricular activities, field trips, and paperwork, it’s a little too easy to get behind on keeping your student’s transcript up to date.

Your student’s transcript is a critical piece of getting him or her into the best college. If you don’t keep your student’s transcript top-of-mind, it can fall into the “later” pile. Nobody wants to get stuck having to manually compile a year’s worth (or more) of class credit information into their student’s transcript all at once—especially last minute. And who has time to figure out how to format a document that will look and feel acceptable to the admissions department?

The automated approach

Thankfully, there are automated transcript services, like Transcript Maker, out there that take the stress out of creating—and keeping track of—your student’s vital high school information. A professional-quality transcript is a critical piece of the college admissions process, and a transcript service gives you the ability to easily generate one.

Regardless of which app you choose, here are some benefits.

1. Automate your student’s GPA calculations

Whether you choose a weighted or unweighted —or choose to grade on a 4.00 vs. 4.33 scale—a transcript service can automate your student’s GPA calculations. Some services offer the option of calculating cumulative GPA by subject, semester, or year.

No matter what you and your student decide on, a transcript service makes GPAs a breeze by calculating them for you. Even better, you can custom-calculate that GPA based on your college of choice’s grading scale.

2. Generate a professional-looking transcript

Building a transcript from the ground up on your own can mean havoc for your formatting. And unfortunately, formatting can make or break your student’s transcript in an admissions department’s eyes. But with a transcript service, you get done-for-you formatting with the options of customizing the template’s design to fit your student’s needs.

3. Minimize transcript mistakes

It can be easy to make mistakes when it comes to small—but important—details like calculating GPA. With a transcript service, you’re less likely to lose time tracking down and correcting small mistakes. Since your student’s college of choice will be scrutinizing their transcript with a very critical eye, preventing as many mistakes as possible will go a long way toward college acceptance.

4. Get your student familiar with the data

A transcript service makes it easier for your student to collaborate with you throughout the process. After all, their future is on the line—so it’s important for them to learn their way around the transcript service, too. And if your student knows the transcript backward and forward, it’s more likely to make communications with admissions officers a breeze.

The bottom line: A transcript service makes it easy for you to build the professional-looking transcript colleges want to see.

Services that help you generate accurate, great-looking transcripts can help make the admissions process as seamless as possible for everyone involved. A transcript service is a win-win-win for you, your student, and the colleges your student applies to. The better your student’s transcript, the more likely they will be to sail straight into a great college to begin the next phase of their education.

Ready to see what Transcript Maker can do for your student? Start your free 14-day trial now.