This is the sixth entry in our “Top 10″ list to assist you with understanding the process of submitting your 2012 admission application to SIPA.  This entry is focused on advice regarding the submission of transcripts.  I have tried to break the entry into categories based on our process/requirements and common questions we receive.

Official vs. Unofficial

At SIPA we will accept unofficial transcripts for application review.  If an applicant is admitted to our program and chooses to attend we will require official transcripts at a later time.  We feel that the submission of unofficial transcripts makes the process easier for applicants and allows us to process applications more quickly.  Therefore, we prefer that you upload transcripts to our application site (by definition these will be unofficial because they will be coming directly from you and not directly from the school).

No matter what, we do need the grading legend included.  The grading legend shows information about the grading system used and often includes other information related to abbreviations that are used on transcripts.

You can find an example of what I mean by a grading legend by clicking here.  Most universities will include this automatically when you request a transcript, however please make sure to ask for it.

What Transcripts Are Needed?

Our general response is – we need transcripts for all coursework completed since graduation from high school.  We do not need high school transcripts.  For those that received college credit for coursework completed in high school, this information is typically listed on the college/university transcript.  If there are no grades but only credits for your high school coursework, this is acceptable.

Let’s say for example that an applicant attended UCLA for two years and then transferred to Michigan and completed his/her degree.  We would need a transcript from both UCLA and Michigan – not a single transcript from Michigan showing the courses that were transferred in. In this example, both schools have their own grading systems and codes and we need to see the codes for each individual school.

Grades, Grades, Grades

The general rule regarding whether multiple transcripts completed toward a single degree are required is – we need grades for all courses completed.  However, we do not need the grades translated or converted to “American” grades.  What is very important is that a grading legend or key be included when you submit your transcript(s).

If your school used a 1-20 scale that is fine, you do not need to convert into a 4.0 scale.  On a 20 point scale, Is 1 good?  Is 20 good?  We will not know unless the transcript legend is included.  Each year we can receive transcripts from close to 1,000 different colleges/universities and we want to look no further than your file for what we need.  Related to this . . . .

Question: I completed a study abroad program while in college, do I need to request a separate transcript for the classes I completed abroad?

The answer is, “it depends.”  Ultimately we need the grades received for all coursework completed.  So, if the grading system used at the study abroad school was different and there are no grades on your home school transcript, then the answer is “Yes, we need the study abroad transcript.”

In this example, if we simply saw the title of the class and a number of credits on your home school transcript but no grade, it is not acceptable – we would need a transcript from the study abroad school with the grades and legend explaining the grades.

However, if you took classes abroad and the grades for these courses are reported on your home school transcript according the grading scale used by your home school, we would not need a separate transcript.

Question:  Help!  I cannot get my transcript to upload, what should I do!?

First, there are four places available on the site for uploading transcripts.  They are labeled as follows:

• Primary Bachelor Degree
• Additional Degree
• Further Degree
• Non-Degree Coursework/Continuing Education

Each section will accept a file up to 1000kb(1mb) in size.  If you try to upload a file larger than 1mb to an individual section you will receive an error message.

Referring back to the example above, let us say that you attended both UCLA and Michigan.  If you try to combine the two transcript files and they exceed 1mb, it is fine to upload two separate files.  If you received your degree from Michigan, upload that in the Primary Bachelor degree section and then upload the UCLA transcript under Additional Degree and put “UCLA Coursework” in the description box.

If your primary degree file is from one school but exceeds 1mb in size, you can break it into two files and when you upload the second part in the Additional Degree section put “Second Part of Transcript” in the description box.

In an extreme example, if one transcript is a total of 3mb you can break it into three files and upload in the first three categories (Primary, Additional, Further).

As far as the scanning process is concerned, we offer advice on the application web site and I think it is well written so I will just repost it here.  If you are having trouble with file size, please consider the following:

• Scan a copy at the lowest dpi that still results in a legible document (we recommend to use under 200 dpi whenever possible).
• Scan in “gray scale” or black and white.
• Try making a photocopy first (experiment with different settings until you find one that results in the smallest file size) then scan the photocopy.

Question:  I completed a few classes on my own since graduating from college, do I need to submit transcripts for these courses?

Answer:  Yes, we need transcripts for all coursework completed since graduating from high school.  Let’s say you took two classes at two different schools after graduating for college – it would be fine to combine these transcripts into one file and upload the file to the Non-Degree Coursework/Continuing Education section.  Even if you took these classes Pass/Fail we still need the transcript.

Advice – Print and Review Before Submitting

We will be printing the transcripts you upload and if you cannot read them when printed, we will not be able to read them either.  We highly recommend printing a copy of what you are uploading to the site before submitting your application.  If we print your application and cannot read your transcript(s) there will be significant delays in processing your application.

GPA Reporting

We understand that not all grades are reported on a 4.0 scale.  If you were not graded on a 4.0 scale, in the Previous Education Section of the application, simply put 0.0 for your GPA.  This alerts us that your grades were not reported on a 4.0 scale.

Question:  What if I am still in school and I have not completed my degree?  My coursework is in progress so what should I do?

It is fine for applicants that are still in college to apply.  Simply request a transcript that reflects your most up-to-date grades.  If this means you do not have grades for the fall semester you are currently enrolled in, that is fine.   If we need more information we will let you know.

For example, if we do not see fall grades reported on your transcript, we may contact you and ask for the results.  We also may not feel the need to contact you.  There is no need for you to submit additional grade information after our deadline passes unless we specifically ask for it.

Question:  What if I completed my degree and am taking a continuing education class but the grade will not be available until after the admissions deadline?

First, please upload a  file showing your registration in the course in the “Non-Degree Coursework/Continuing Education Section.”  We do not need to see a grading legend, a simple screen shot from a course registration web site would suffice (many schools offer this, however if not, ask the registrar to print a copy for you).

We would also like to see this information in the second résumé.  You can enter the name of the class, where you are taking it, post the class description, and list it as “In Progress.”

Question:  What if I plan on taking a class but it does not start until after the admission deadline passes?

Please report such information in the second résumé.  For example, if you plan on taking a microeconomics class that starts in February, you can list the class and school you plan on taking the course at in your second résumé.  If there is a description for the class available on the web or via a catalog, please list the description as well. For details on the second résumé, see this entry.

This is the sixth entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 6 – If you must mail something to our office use a private mail courier and request receipt confirmation.

Columbia is a huge university with one central mail room.  All “standard” mail is funneled to the main mail room and it can take a week or more for mail to be sorted and sent on to us.  This spells D-E-L-A-Y.

By utilizing a private mail carrier the parcel will be sent directly to our office, avoiding delays.  Also, we highly recommend getting a tracking number or receipt confirmation whenever something is mailed to our office.  This way the moment we sign for the package the courier will log delivery and you will be notified if you have signed up for email notification.

Even better, 100% of your documents needed for admission consideration may be submitted on our application site so you may want to consider uploading your information rather than sending anything by mail.  We want to make the process of applying as simple as possible so we accept self reported test scores and unofficial transcripts uploaded our application site.

It may sound funny to applicants but I cannot tell you how excited I get when we print an application and everything comes out in order.  When applicants upload all of the necessary documents and recommenders upload their letters as well, everything prints in one batch.  This means we can forward your application to the committee quickly.

If documents are mailed, after we print the application and review it we then have to go on a perilous search for missing documents.  The natural question you might ask is, “What is so perilous about searching for documents in an office?”  Well, I can tell you from lots of experience that paper and staples possess the unique capacity to slice human skin.  During the application season band-aids and hand lotion are a must and often times my hands look as if I got into fight with a cat.

As all admitted applicants that will be joining us in the fall are aware, we need official transcripts and test scores to complete admission files so that we may forward all of the files to the Office of Student Affairs.  Your file will become part of your permanent academic record.

Josh Dennee is the person in our office responsible for managing this process and I asked him to write a blog entry on the topic to provide direction and put people at ease.  Take it away Josh . . .

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In our continuing effort to provide complete transparency about the admissions process to avoid causing too many heart-attacks during a period fraught with anxiety and excitement, I am going to provide some insight into Official Documents processing. I understand that many of you newly admitted students are somewhat concerned about the status of your official transcripts and test scores with the impending June 15^th deadline. Assuming that your scores and grades are consistent with your application, there is no reason to worry. Let me explain how the process works.

If you requested to have your GRE, GMAT, or TOEFL scores sent to SIPA, they will be entered in the information system within the coming weeks. Every few days I receive an electronic file from the ETS containing either GRE or TOEFL scores. These scores are then compiled and uploaded in a rather time-consuming process. Currently, I am still uploading scores received as early as last year, so even if you had your scores sent in months ago, they may not yet be in the system. And, although it is not our preferred method, we also have the ability to verbally confirm scores with the ETS if for some reason there was a problem with the electronic file. Meanwhile, GMAT scores are downloaded directly from GMAC and uploaded in a similar fashion.

Official transcripts are mailed to our office, recorded in Apply Yourself (the system through which applications were submitted) as official, and then filed alphabetically with other similar documents. This process is obviously subject to a certain degree of human error, thus the transcripts are carefully double-checked before we begin notifying students that they are missing.

I highly suggest that, if you have not yet requested your schools to send us official transcripts, you do so as soon as possible as some schools take a substantial amount of time to accommodate such requests. Over the course of the next month you may receive an email from us requesting an official transcript. If you have already previously requested an official copy to be sent to us, please do not fret, there is a strong chance that it is somewhere in our office. Once we have received everything we need, you will be sent an email exclaiming “Your SIPA File is Complete” and you can rest easy.

Lastly, I would like to note that, although June 15^th is our preferred deadline, we are perfectly willing to accommodate late materials if delays are encountered. I hope that this helps assuage any anxieties that you have about the status of your documents. I look forward to seeing you all in the fall.

This is the sixth entry in our “Top 10″ list to assist you with understanding the process of submitting your admission application to SIPA.  This entry is focused on advice regarding the submission of transcripts.  I have tried to break the entry into categories based on our process/requirements and common questions we receive.

Official vs. Unofficial

At SIPA we will accept unofficial transcripts for application review.  If an applicant is admitted to our program and chooses to attend, we will require official transcripts at a later time.  We feel that the submission of unofficial transcripts makes the process easier for applicants and allows us to process applications more quickly.  Therefore we prefer that you upload transcripts to our application site (by definition these will be unofficial because they will be coming directly from you and not directly from the school).

No matter what, we do need the grading legend included.  The grading legend shows information about the grading system used and often includes other information related to abbreviations that are used on transcripts.

You can find an example of what I mean by a grading legend by clicking here.  Most universities will include this automatically when you request a transcript, however please make sure to ask for it.

What Transcripts Are Needed?

Our general response is – we need transcripts for all coursework completed since graduation from high school.  We do not need high school transcripts.  For those that received college credit for coursework completed in high school, this information is typically listed on the college/university transcript.  If there are no grades but only credits for your high school coursework, this is acceptable.

Let’s say for example that an applicant attended UCLA for two years and then transferred to Michigan and completed his/her degree.  We would need a transcript from both UCLA and Michigan – not a single transcript from Michigan showing the courses that were transferred in. In this example, both schools have their own grading systems and codes, and we need to see the codes for each individual school.

Grades, Grades, Grades

The general rule regarding whether multiple transcripts completed toward a single degree are required is – we need grades for all courses completed.  However, we do not need the grades translated or converted to “American” grades.  What is very important is that a grading legend or key be included when you submit your transcript(s).

If your school used a 1-20 scale, that is fine, you do not need to convert into a 4.0 scale.  On a 20 point scale, Is 1 good?  Is 20 good?  We will not know unless the transcript legend is included.  Each year we receive transcripts from over 1,000 different colleges/universities and we want to look no further than your file for what we need.  Related to this . . . .

Question: I completed a study abroad program while in college, do I need to request a separate transcript for the classes I completed abroad?

The answer is, “it depends.”  Ultimately we need the grades received for all coursework completed.  So, if the grading system used at the study abroad school was different and there are no grades on your home school transcript, then the answer is “Yes, we need the study abroad transcript.”

In this example, if we simply saw the title of the class and a number of credits on your home school transcript but no grade, it is not acceptable – we would need a transcript from the study abroad school with the grades and legend explaining the grades.

However, if you took classes abroad and the grades for these courses are reported on your home school transcript according the grading scale used by your home school, we would not need a separate transcript.

Question:  Help!  I cannot get my transcript to upload, what should I do!?

First, there are four places available on the site for uploading transcripts.  They are labeled as follows:

• Primary Bachelor Degree
• Additional Degree
• Further Degree
• Non-Degree Coursework/Continuing Education

Each section will accept a file up to 1000kb(1mb) in size.  If you try to upload a file larger than 1mb to an individual section you will receive an error message.

Referring back to the example above, let us say that you attended both UCLA and Michigan.  If you try to combine the two transcript files and they exceed 1mb, it is fine to upload two separate files.  If you received your degree from Michigan, upload that in the Primary Bachelor degree section and then upload the UCLA transcript under Additional Degree and put “UCLA Coursework” in the description box.

If your primary degree file is from one school but exceeds 1mb in size, you can break it into two files and when you upload the second part in the Additional Degree section put “Second Part of Transcript” in the description box.

In an extreme example, if one transcript is a total of 3mb you can break it into three files and upload in the first three categories (Primary, Additional, Further).

As far as the scanning process is concerned, we offer advice on the application web site and I think it is well written so I will just repost it here.  If you are having trouble with file size, please consider the following:

• Scan a copy at the lowest dpi that still results in a legible document (we recommend to use under 200 dpi whenever possible).
• Scan in “gray scale” or black and white.
• Try making a photocopy first (experiment with different settings until you find one that results in the smallest file size) then scan the photocopy.

Question:  I completed a few classes on my own since graduating from college, do I need to submit transcripts for these courses?

Answer:  Yes, we need transcripts for all coursework completed since graduating from high school.  Let’s say you took two classes at two different schools after graduating for college – it would be fine to combine these transcripts into one file and upload the file to the Non-Degree Coursework/Continuing Education section.  Even if you took these classes Pass/Fail we still need the transcript.

Advice – Print and Review Before Submitting

We will be printing the transcripts you upload and if you cannot read them when printed, we will not be able to read them either.  We highly recommend printing a copy of what you are uploading to the site before submitting your application.  If we print your application and cannot read your transcripts, there will be significant delays in processing your application.

GPA Reporting

We understand that not all grades are reported on a 4.0 scale.  If you were not graded on a 4.0 scale, in the Previous Education Section of the application, simply put 0.0 for your GPA.  This alerts us that your grades were not reported on a 4.0 scale.

Question:  What if I am still in school and I have not completed my degree?  My coursework is in progress so what should I do?

It is fine for applicants that are still in college to apply.  Simply request a transcript that reflects your most up-to-date grades.  If this means you do not have grades for the fall semester you are currently enrolled in, that is fine.   If we need more information, we will let you know.

For example, if we do not see fall grades reported on your transcript, we may contact you and ask for the results.  We also may not feel the need to contact you.  There is no need for you to submit additional grade information after our deadline passes unless we specifically ask for it.

Question:  What if I completed my degree and am taking a continuing education class but the grade will not be available until after the admissions deadline?

First, please upload a  file showing your registration in the course in the “Non-Degree Coursework/Continuing Education Section.”  We do not need to see a grading legend, a simple screen shot from a course registration web site would suffice (many schools offer this however if not, ask the registrar to print a copy for you).

We would also like to see this information in the second résumé.  You can enter the name of the class, where you are taking it, post the class description, and list it as “In Progress.”

Question:  What if I plan on taking a class but it does not start until after the admission deadline passes?

Please report such information in the second résumé.  For example, if you plan on taking a microeconomics class that starts in February, you can list the class and school you plan on taking the course at in your second résumé.  If there is a description for the class available on the web or via a catalog, please list the description as well. For details on the second résumé, see this entry.

This is the fifth entry in our “Top 10″ list to assist you with understanding the process of submitting your admission application to SIPA.  This tip is closely tied to one that appeared in our other Top 10 Series focused on communicating with our office.  This important tip directly relates to the application process so I am including it in this list as well, along with some additional important insights.

I want to emphasize once again that our preference is that all applicants submit 100% of the documents and information required to apply via our web site.  In a “perfect world” if all of your information and associated documents are submitted online, they will print out in order all at one time and we can review your application for completion without having to look for documents that have been mailed.  This is the fastest and most efficient way for us to process applications.  Remember that we ask applicants to self report test scores on the application and we accept/prefer uploaded copies of transcripts.  We also encourage letters of recommendation to be submitted online.

We do understand that some applicants will have to mail transcripts or that letters of recommendation may come in via mail.  Some schools will only mail transcripts and some individuals are not comfortable with technology and wish to mail letters of recommendation.

If something does need to be mailed we highly recommend using a private mail courier.  Columbia is a huge university with one central mail room.  All “standard” mail is funneled to the main mail room and it can take a week or more for mail to be sorted and sent on to us.

By utilizing a private mail carrier the parcel will be sent directly to our office, avoiding delays.  Also, we highly recommend getting a tracking number whenever something is mailed to our office.  This way, the moment we sign for the package the courier will log delivery and you will be notified if you have signed up for email notification.

If you know that a letter or transcript will be mailed to our office, I offer the following advice – provide the recommender or school with a prepaid envelope for mailing.  For example, if a recommender tells you that s/he will not be uploading their letter, visit a mail carrier and prepay for an envelop addressed to our office with a tracking number.  Then give this envelop to the recommender or school that is going to mail the document.  This simplifies the process for the recommender or school and provides you with a tracking number so that as soon as we sign for it, you will know.

Question:  If all of my documents are not submitted online, will my application review be impacted in any way?

Answer: The answer is both yes and no to this question.  First the “No.”  How documents are submitted has no impact upon the decision the Committee makes.  So although we prefer that documents be submitted online, we do not penalize applicants in any way if a document is received by mail.

Now the “Yes.”  If documents are mailed to our office it will take us longer to track them in our system.  Again, when we complete an application has no impact on the ultimate decision, as long as all of your documents/information is submitted by the deadline.  However, if documents are mailed it will likely take us longer to complete the tracking process.  This means that you will likely have to wait longer for us to confirm that all of your documents have been received.

In summary, how documents are submitted has no impact on the admission decision, however it can impact how long it takes us to inform you that your application has been completed.

Question:  Is it okay if I mail my personal statement and résumé in addition to submitting them on line?

Answer:  No. Please upload your two résumé documents and your responses to the personal statement.  Do not send paper copies of these documents to our office.

Question:  Can I mail other documents to your office?  For example, a copy of my undergraduate thesis or a policy memo I composed?

Answer:  No. Please only submit the documents we ask for on the application site.  I know this may sound harsh, but we want treat all applicants the same and we only have roughly six weeks to review several thousand applications.

However, we do encourage applicants to list relevant skills/experience/projects in the résumé, and if this means your résumé is longer than a “typical” résumé that is fine.

So for example, if you completed a thesis would like to provide a brief synopsis in your résumé, that would be completely acceptable.  For full details on our résumé preferences, see this entry.

On a final note for this entry, even if 100% of the documents/information required to apply are submitted online, it can take us up to two weeks to send out a confirmation message stating that an application is complete.  We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as possible to make sure all of the information submitted is readable and complete.  When a file has been certified as complete, we will send an email message.

We have started to get some emails about receipt of official transcripts and test scores so let me provide a bit of guidance.  We receive some test reports electronically and others via mail.  The vast majority are sent to us as electronic files and they are downloaded into a centralized Columbia University computer system.  We then have to sync that system with our admission software.  As you know, applicants self report test scores on the admission application and these are the scores we use for the review – not the official reports.

The process of getting official test scores into our system can take some time and we are still busy wrapping up the admission review process, managing the message board, preparing for Admitted Student Day, and responding to a flurry of emails on a variety of topics.  If you choose to enroll at SIPA we will need to confirm receipt of official test scores by June 15 so we have plenty of time.  We really do not actively start to undertake this process until after the date to pay a deposit passes (May 3rd).

I will provide some updates on the process in the near future and for now, if you feel you have submitted your official test scores and/or transcripts, we would just ask for your patience while we work on integrating this information into our system.

The process of submitting official transcripts is straightforward.  If you submitted official transcripts with your admission application rest assured we will be tracking them as official.  If you uploaded unofficial copies of your transcripts to our application Web site, then you will need to send official transcripts to our office by June 15th.  The address to send them to is:

Columbia SIPA – Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
420 West 118th Street
Room 408 – International Affairs Building
New York, NY 10027

Thanks again for your patience and if you asked that your test scores be reported to SIPA they are likely loaded into our campus mainframe, waiting patiently for us to sync them with our system.

The admission deadline at SIPA is very important.  All documents need to be submitted on time in order for us to guarantee review of an application.  The deadline for fall 2010 admission is January 5th, 2010.

Applicants have almost total control of the majority of the required documents; however there are two particular documents each year that a few applicants consistently have difficulty with around our deadline.  Like clockwork we receive emails from panicked applicants each year around the deadline concerning recommendations and transcripts.   Let me give you samples of two emails from the past application cycle.

Email One:

Help!!!!!!  The deadline is only a few days away and I just learned that one of the people writing a letter of recommendation had to leave the country and he will not be able to complete it for me.  I have been planning on attending SIPA for a long time and now I am afraid that my chances are in jeopardy.  I cannot see a way that I can contact another recommendation writer in time.  I am so sorry, will you please help me?  What can I do?

Email Two:

URGENT.  I wanted to make you aware of a situation I face that I hope will not eliminate me from admission consideration.  I just contacted the Registrar’s Office at my University and I got a message back saying they are closed for the holidays.  They will not reopen until after the SIPA deadline has passed.  What can I do?  Does this mean my application will not be reviewed?

In exceptional cases the Admissions Committee may be willing to process an application that is completed after the deadline, but with hundreds of people applying each year we want to make sure that those that complete their application on time are given priority in the admission process.

I therefore highly recommend that applicants pay particular attention to keeping in contact with those composing letters of recommendation as well as obtaining copies of transcripts as early as possible.  SIPA will accept unofficial copies of transcripts for admission consideration and we prefer that the transcripts be uploaded via the application site.

Avoiding complications regarding the submission of these documents will help to alleviate stress around the application deadline and submitting your documents in advance of the deadline will allow us to forward your application to the Admissions Committee without complication.

One of the challenges faced each year by the Office of Admissions is processing thousands of application documents submitted by mail.  As you might imagine, opening, categorizing, alphabetizing, tracking, and filing documents is quite time intensive. We are constantly seeking new ways to expedite the admission review process and starting with the 2010 admission cycle we will allow applicants to upload copies of academic transcripts to the application Web site.

In the past we required applicants to submit an official copy of all academic transcripts by mail in order to review an application for admission.  By allowing applicants to upload copies of transcripts to the application site we hope to expedite the process and reduce the burden placed upon applicants to work with their previous institutions to ensure that transcripts are mailed to our office by the admission deadline.

Going forward, the preferred method to submit college/university transcripts for admission consideration will be by upload to our application Web site by the deadline.  If an applicant is offered admission official transcripts will then need to be submitted to confirm enrollment.  Specific dates by which official transcripts will need to be submitted will be communicated after admission offers are made.

We thus recommend that all applicants request copies of all academic transcripts pertaining to college/university level coursework.  If you receive these copies by mail, you will be responsible for scanning and uploading the transcripts to the application Web site.  If your school sends electronic copies you may upload these documents to our application Web site.

There are two very important points to consider.

First, it is extremely important that all transcript information is scanned.  Universities use different coding systems to report grades and most often these codes are listed on the back side of printed transcripts.  The Committee will need this information and if the codes are not part of the upload, the application will not be considered complete.

Second, applicants must submit copies of transcripts from all colleges/universities attended.  For example, if you attended one school for two years and then transferred to another school to complete your degree, we would need separate transcripts from each school – not one single transcript with grades from both schools.  Exceptions are granted for exchange programs.  We understand that exchange programs often utilize the home school’s grading system and thus a second transcript might not be necessary.  If you have doubts we recommend submitting all transcripts.  You can contact our office if you have questions or concerns.

Copies of high school transcripts are not necessary.  Applicants should include transcripts from all college/university coursework completed, even if a degree was not granted.  For example, if you graduated and then later took college level courses that were not part of a degree program, we still will require a transcript documenting the course(s) taken and grade(s) achieved.

The most common inquiry we receive before and after the admission deadline is, “I have submitted a document via postal mail or the Web site but it does not show as received when I log in to check the status of my application. Can you please tell me if it is has been received and if my application will be impacted?”

First, let me start by stating the following – it is not important that an application be listed as complete on the application Web site by January 5th, 2009.  It is important that applications be submitted by this date and we hope that all documents are uploaded or received by this date.

Our office is happy to work with applicants to ensure the application is completed, but please understand it does take our office time to process the thousands of documents submitted on the application Web site and sent to our office. The date each document is tracked into the system is not important – it is the receipt date that is important. Here are a few important insights regarding processing.

First, do not be surprised if it takes up to two weeks after the deadline date for documents to appear as received on the application site. It is completely normal for documents to appear as not received on the Web site and this may be the case up to January 19th.

Second, we do not begin to track documents until an application is submitted. It takes us three to five days to set up an application file from the time the application is submitted.  Therefore, if you submitted your application recently and documents were sent some time ago, it will likely take at least two weeks to complete the matching process.

Third, even though you may have sent a document to our office via an express courier and we have signed for it, this does not mean we immediately track it. All documents received are first sorted alphabetically and then enter the matching process.

Fourth, as explained in a recent blog entry, there is always a slight delay in the receipt of postal mail that is not sent to our office directly by an express courier (UPS, FedEx, etc.). This is due to the fact that general mail that is addressed to our office is first sent to a central Columbia post office for sorting. This process can add three to five additional days to the delivery of documents to our office. We are aware of this delay and we account for this when tracking documents. Documents delayed by the internal sorting process are not negatively impacted.

Fifth, if there is an issue beyond your control that has resulted in the late submission of a document to our office, please feel free to send an email to sipa_admission@columbia.edu to let us know the specific details.

Sixth, please do not panic and request that another copy of a document you feel has been sent to us but not tracked be sent again. This will result in even more mail to be sorted when it is likely that we have already received the document, it has just has not been matched to your file.

Finally, if there is an issue regarding document receipt we will be happy to work with you, however we may not know this until up to two weeks after the deadline.  If there is good reason to believe an issue outside of your control has taken place we will do everything in our power to ensure your application is completed and forwarded to the committee for review. Please see our blog entry for information on standardized test score receipt for an example of issues we take into account.

In summary, do not panic if you feel you have done everything required and yet your application status still shows as incomplete. It is normal for this to be case up to two weeks after the deadline date. We appreciate your patience and look forward to reviewing your file.

In order for an admission file to be complete and forwarded to the Admission Committee for review we do require that official transcripts from any college or university attended be mailed to our office. Even if an applicant only took a few classes at a school, we still need official transcripts. Another way to look at it is this: if the college or university is listed on your résumé or on the application, we need official transcripts.

For the majority of schools we work with this means that the college or university seals the transcripts in an envelope for delivery to our office. However we work with schools from all over the world and realize that policies vary. The point is that transcripts mailed to our office (we do not accept electronic delivery) must be authentic and official and this can be defined by schools differently. Examples of ways that schools certify transcripts can include:

• A heat responsive stamp
• An embossed school stamp
• Official stickers or ink stamps placed on the transcripts by a university or authorized official
• A signature of an authorized official across the sealed flap of the envelope

Transcripts do not need to be sent directly to our office but if transcripts are sent to you, please do not open them prior to sending them to our office.  There are two circumstances where we can allow for you to open the transcripts and both involve third party translation or authorization.

Some schools will only provide one official transcript to a graduate.  In this case we recommend that you hold on to the official copy since we do not return documents submitted to our office.  If your school will only release one copy, take the official copy to a notary public and have them copy the transcripts, authenticate the copy, and seal the copy in an envelope for delivery to our office.  Contact information for the official who copied the transcripts should be included in the envelope.

The same would apply for transcripts that need to be translated into English.  If your transcripts are not in English, deliver them to an authorized official for translation and have the translated copy certified and sealed for delivery to our office.  A common organization we recommend for transcript translation is World Education Services.

If you participated in an official exchange program and this is noted on the transcripts of your home school, we do not need official transcripts from the exchange school.  However, if there is no official relationship between the home school and exchange school, we need copies from both schools.  The reason for this is that each school may use different codes and grading systems.  These codes and grading systems are typically explained on the reverse side of the transcripts.

Finally, if your school does not use a 4.0 grading scale and you are wondering what to put on your admission application, you may input a GPA of 0.0.  The GPA listed on the application is self reported and does not influence your evaluation.  Indicating a score of 0.0 will alert the Committee to pay attention to the scale used by the schools you have attended.