What's a Transcript? Help for Exam Alternatives!

There's a growing movement amongst home educators of ditching the UK exam system and using the American one for university entry instead.

Instead of GCSEs and A-levels, families are following a broader approach to studies in years 10-13 while preparing for the US national exams known as SATs.

That's not "sats" to rhyme with "mats" as you may have heard about, those national exams for younger UK schooled children, vilified by state schools and rejected by independents as long ago as the 90s.

Instead, you say "S-A-T" and it stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test, administered at College Board test centres throughout the US and even the UK. The general exam lasts about 3 hours and is comprised of maths, reading, and writing multiple choice questions. Subject exams are usually sat in the afternoon of the same day, lasting about an hour per subject. Again, they're multiple choice and can be taken in maths, biology, history, English, and many foreign languages.

UK students can submit the general test plus three SAT exam grades to UK universities instead of doing A-levels, saving a lot of time, money, and stress.

Alongside the grades, students may be asked to provide the university with a transcript of study that shows completion of school-level education, and the video below explains more about this document called a transcript.

For more about taking the US SAT route to UK university, come join the Facebook group called HE Success without UK exams. Many families are members who share how they have done it already, and are helping the rest through the process should they choose.