Transcript Entry: How to Enter Coursework

REQUIREMENTS

  • REPORT ALL COURSES ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT, NOT JUST PREREQUISITES. Be sure to include courses from which you withdrew, repeated courses, ungraded labs, test credits, gym courses, orientations or other non-graded courses.
  • COURSEWORK MUST MATCH YOUR OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS EXACTLY.  Be certain to list your courses under the correct term, year, and class level at which they were taken. Department prefixes and course numbers must be precise replicas of those on your transcripts.
  • REPORT TRANSFER COURSES UNDER THE SCHOOL WHERE THE COURSEWORK WAS ORIGINALLY TAKEN. Coursework must be reported under the actual school, and in some cases, the specific campus, it was taken at. Do NOT list coursework under the schools which the credit was transferred to; report all classes under the schools at which they were originally taken, and list them as they appear on the transcript from the original school. Do NOT list these courses again as transfer credits.

APPLICANT RESPONSIBILITY:

NOTE: REPORTING COURSEWORK IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE APPLICANT. By inputting your coursework into the VMCAS application, you standardize the format and content of your transcripts so that veterinary programs can compare your course subjects, credit values, and grade values on a level field with all other applicants who are seeking admission.

BEFORE BEGINNING COURSEWORK ENTRY:

Complete the Colleges Attended Section

Complete the “Colleges Attended” section of the application, carefully following the instructions provided here: Colleges Attended.

Refer To Your Official Transcripts

Request your own copy of your transcripts from EACH school you have entered to assist you in entering your coursework properly. Do NOT rely on computer printouts or only request your primary college’s transcript and rely on transfer information to report your work, as this often differs from the official transcripts VMCAS receives and will cause your application to be returned to you for correction.

CLICK ON THE TOPICS BELOW FOR STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

COURSEWORK: HOW TO ENTER A TERM

Click the blue “START” button to begin entering your coursework. You will then be prompted to add a semester, quarter, or trimester depending on what term system you entered when you reported the school in the Colleges Attended section. If this is incorrect, please edit the term system in the Colleges Attended section.

Select a Term

The season this term took place, usually written on your transcript.

Select a Year

The year this term began. This list limited to the time span you selected when you entered the school in the “Colleges Attended” section. If these years are incorrect, you must go to Colleges Attended to edit the start and end dates.

NOTE: VMCAS considers “winter” terms to begin in January, even though many winter terms begin in December. Therefore, when selecting “Winter 2009,” the computer reads this as January 2009, not December 2009. If you took a December 2009 winter term, you should list this on your application as “Winter 2010” to ensure your coursework remains in chronological order.

Select Academic Status

This refers to your status during the term you are entering, NOT your status NOW. So, for example, all of your courses during your freshman terms are listed as “freshman,” sophomore terms “sophomore,” and so on. Please see the status definitions below:

  • FRESHMAN-SENIOR: All college level courses taken prior to your first bachelor’s degree. VMCAS does not monitor credit levels in regards to freshman-senior designations. In general, four year students list one year per designation and five-year students list their last two years as senior. Non-traditional students label their terms as evenly as possible, but should remain in chronological order (i.e. do not report yourself as a junior in 1999 and as a freshman in 2000).
  • POST-BACCALAUREATE:  Undergraduate level courses taken after your first bachelor’s degree is earned. If you earned a second bachelor’s degree, your entire second degree would be considered “post-baccalaureate.”
  • GRADUATE: Master’s degree and doctorate degree-level work only. You do not need to have earned the degree in order for your work to be graduate degree level. Work such as that taken in pursuit of a Ph.D, MD, PharmD, JD, JurisD, LL.D, DC, are all considered doctorate degree-level. PLEASE NOTE: unlike in previous cycles, doctorate work WILL factor into your GPA.

Once you have filled out all of the information above, click “Save” to save the term information. You will automatically be prompted to enter a course.

COURSEWORK: HOW TO ENTER A COURSE

Click “Add Course” to add the first course you took during this term.

Course Code

List the department prefix and number of the course, which will look something like this: “BIOL 101.”DEPARTMENT PREFIXES AND COURSE NUMBERS MUST MATCH THOSE ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT EXACTLY and cannot be shortened or altered. Some schools, such as Rutgers University, have a “numeric” department prefix instead of a letter one, so instead of “BIOL 101” you would enter “367 101.”

Course Title

The title of the course, just as it appears on your transcript, which will say something like: “Anatomy and Physiology I.” You MAY abbreviate your course title if it does not fit into the space provided and it is clear that it corresponds with the title listed on your transcript, i.e. “Anat and Phys I.” You may NOT enter abbreviations which are vague or misleading, i.e. “Bio.”

Course Subject
Select the course subject for the class using the drop-down menu which bests describes the course you took. If you cannot determine the correct subject based on your course’s title, please default to the department the course was offered through.
Credits
Enter the number of credits for each course. A “credit” is the value of the course, and remains the same no matter what you earned as a grade. If your transcript lists both attempted and earned credits, you must list the ATTEMPTED CREDITS. There are two types of credits to be aware of, which are described below:

Normal Semester, Trimester or Quarter Credits

If your course credits are mostly “3.0,” “4.0,” or “5.0,” your transcript is listing either semester, trimester, or quarter credits and NO conversion is necessary. List the credits as they appear on your transcript.

Unit Credits

If ALL of your course credits are listed as “1.0″ or 0.50″ your transcript is listing CREDIT UNITS and you need to make a conversion. Check the back of your transcript and search for a conversion ratio, which will say something like “1 unit is equivalent to 4 semester hours.” If there is no conversion on the back of your transcript, you should contact your registrar’s office to determine the conversion ratio. Once you have determined the conversion ratio, convert the credits by multiplying the number of units listed on your transcript by the conversion factor. For example, if your conversion is 1 unit = 4 hours and your transcript lists 1 unit for a course, you would enter in 4.00 credits on your VMCAS application. If 0.50 is listed, you would enter in 2.00.

Grade

Enter you grade EXACTLY as it appears on your official transcript. If your grade appears as a combination of two grades, such as AB, please enter your grade with the higher grade first- AB rather than BA.

CAS Grade

Once you enter your grade in the GRADE section, VMCAS automatically converts it to the VMCAS equivalent in the “CAS Grade” section. This section allows VMCAS to standardize transcripts for the veterinary programs, and this box cannot be edited. You can view charts which detail how grade conversions work below. Please note that there are different conversions for numeric grades depending on whether you attended a U.S. or Canadian institution.

Click “Save” to save the course. To add more courses taken DURING THE SAME TERM, click the “ADD COURSE” button. Once you have finished entering courses for a term, click “Add New Term” to create a new term.

WARNING: DO NOT LIST ALL OF YOUR COURSES UNDER ONE TERM IF YOU ATTENDED AN INSTITUTION FOR MULTIPLE TERMS

Listing Lab Credits

If your TRANSCRIPT lists labs separately, then they must be listed separately on your application as well. Please record the lab as it appears on your transcript, with the title, prefix/number, amount of credits, and grade given. If your transcript combines lab/lecture courses into one class on a transcript, they should be reported as one entry on your application.

Listing Test Credits

You may only report test credit if you were awarded credit by one of the colleges you attended for your performance on the test. This includes Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), CLEP, DANTE, REGENTS, and courses you “tested out of” at the college. These credits MUST APPEAR ON YOUR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT in order for you to report them. List test credits under your first term at the institution which awarded you the credit. Your grade is “CR” for “Credit.” If no course prefix or number is issued, you may put “N/A” for “Not Applicable.” You must list the individual courses credited to you if your transcript lists them separately. If your transcript does not break down the credit into individual courses and you know what these are, you may still break this down yourself as long as the credits add up to the correct lump sum indicated on the transcript.

NOTE: Not all high school credit is “Advanced Placement.” If you received college credits for a course while you were a high school student but you did NOT take the College Board AP Exam, these courses are NOT “Advanced Placement” and should NOT be reported as test credit. Instead they are “Dual Enrollment,” and must be reported under the college that sponsored the class and is considered a regular college course.

COURSEWORK: ENTERING PLANNED OR IN-PROGRESS CLASSES

For the benefit of the veterinary programs you are applying to, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you enter any courses which you are currently taking or plan to take in the near future. VMCAS does not require you to report this information, but some veterinary programs do. VMCAS advises all applicants to contact the programs to which they are applying to determine if they require them to report planned or in-progress work.

NOTE:  If you have a term where some courses are complete while others remain in-progress, you must enter the ENTIRE TERM as “in-progress.”

Entering A Planned or In-Progress Term:

1. List the school you are currently taking or plan to take courses at in the “Colleges Attended” section of the application. Make sure that you indicate that you are still attending this institution by checking off the “Check if you are still attending this college” box.

2. In the coursework section, add the planned or in-progress term and year. A check box on the right hand side of this entry bar is labeled “planned/in-progress.” Check this box to indicate that this term is not yet complete.

3. Enter your course information as you did for your completed coursework, except there is no field to enter in a grade.

4. Once you have finished entering courses for your current or planned term, you may add additional planned/in-progress terms if necessary.

WARNING: DO NOT SEND VMCAS A TRANSCRIPT CONTAINING ONLY WORK MARKED AS “PLANNED/IN-PROGRESS.”  VMCAS does not require nor accept documentation for unfinished courses.

Once you have completed in-progress courses, you should send the updated transcript directly to the veterinary programs to which you are applying.

 VMCAS GRADE CHARTS:

VMCAS LETTER GRADE VALUES:

 

Grade on Transcript: VMCAS Letter Grade: VMCAS Numeric Value:
A+
A
4.0
A
A
4.0
 A-
A-
3.7
AB
AB
3.5
B+
B+
3.3
B
B
3.0
B-
B-
2.7
BC
 BC
2.5
C+
C+
2.3
C
 C
2.0
 C-
C-
1.7
 CD
CD
1.5
 D+
 D+
1.3
D
D
1.0
 D-
 D-
0.7
E
F
0.0
F
F
0.0
WF
F
0.0

U.S. NUMERIC GRADE CONVERSIONS:

 
Numeric Grade on Transcript: VMCAS Conversion: Percentage Grade on Transcript: VMCAS Conversion:
4.0
A
100-90
A
3.7
A-
89-80
B
3.5
AB
79-70
C
3.3
B+
69-60
D
3.0
B
59 and Below
F
2.7
B-

NOTE REGARDING NUMERIC GRADES BETWEEN NUMBERS ON THE CHART:

If the number is closer to one grade than another, you must choose the closest grade. For example, if you have a 3.8, a 3.8 is closer to a 3.7 (A-) than a 4.0 (A), so you must input the A-.

If the number falls exactly between two values, you may round up to the higher grade. For example, if you have a 3.4, that is exactly between a 3.5 (AB) and 3.3 (B+) so you may round up to the AB.”
2.5
BC
2.3
C+
2.0
C
1.7
C-
1.5
CD
1.3
D+
1.0
D
0.7
D-
0.0
F

CANADIAN NUMERIC GRADE CONVERSIONS:

Numeric Grade on Transcript:
VMCAS Conversion:
Percentage Grade on Transcript:
VMCAS Conversion:
4.0
A
90-100
A+
3.7
A-
80-89
A
3.5
AB
70-79
B
3.3
A-
60-69
C
3.0
B
50-59
D
2.7
B-
0-49
F
2.5
BC

NOTE REGARDING NUMERIC GRADES BETWEEN NUMBERS ON THE CHART:

If the number is closer to one grade than another, you must choose the closest grade. For example, if you have a 3.8, a 3.8 is closer to a 3.7 (A-) than a 4.0 (A), so you must input the A-.

If the number falls exactly between two values, you may round up to the higher grade. For example, if you have a 3.4, that is exactly between a 3.5 (AB) and 3.3 (B+) so you may round up to the AB.”
2.3
C+
2.0
C
1.7
C-
1.5
CD
1.3
D+
1.0
D
0.7
D-
Less Than 0.7
F

Review & Finalize My Transcripts (Indicating Special Course Types and Information):

Once you have entered all of your courses, a blue button will appear on the Transcript Entry page which says “Review & Finalize My Transcripts.” This process will allow you to designate specific courses as study abroad, repeated, test credit, etc.

Primary College

Your “Primary College” is the school at which you earned your Bachelor’s Degree, regardless of how long you attended this institution compared to others. Designate your primary college by clicking the circle next to the institution where you earned your Bachelor’s Degree. If you have earned more than one Bachelor’s Degree, please select the school at which you earned your FIRST Bachelor’s Degree.

Repeated Classes

Courses retaken at the same school for a higher grade are considered “Repeated.” Withdrawn courses, courses taken at different schools, or courses taken repeatedly but not retaken for a better grade (i.e. school band, gym courses, etc.) are NOT considered repeated. If you have repeated a course, select “yes” and then check off each attempt at the class to mark it as “Repeated.”

NOTE: VMCAS is required to factor ALL attempts at courses into the GPA calculation, regardless of a school or state’s academic forgiveness policies. Marking a course as “repeated” will NOT exclude it from your GPA calculation.

Advanced Placement

Credits granted to you by a college or university for your performance on the College Board Advanced Placement Exam are considered “Advanced Placement.” If you have Advanced Placement credits, select “yes” and then check off each AP class to mark it as “Advanced Placement.”

Other Test Credit

If you have other test credits including International Baccalaureate (IB), CLEP, DANTE, REGENTS, or Institutional/Departmental exams (courses you “tested out of” at the college), click “yes” and select them here.

Honors Courses

A college course taken at an honors level is considered “Honors.” These are usually designated on your transcript by an “H” in the course number. Please note that earning Latin honors upon graduation does not mean your courses are retroactively considered “Honors.”

Study Abroad

If you have courses listed which were taken as part of a study abroad program, mark them as Study Abroad here. Please double check the “Study Abroad or Overseas U.S. Transcripts” section of our instructions to ensure you have reported these correctly. PLEASE NOTE: study abroad work listed in any way other than as a foreign school WILL factor into your GPA.

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Q: How do I enter coursework from a foreign school?

A: You cannot enter coursework for foreign institutions. Please read the instructions for submitting foreign and French Canadian transcripts.

Q: Do I have to report courses from ALL post-secondary schools I have attended in the Transcript Entry section?

A: YES. You must list every class you have taken after high school as they appear on your transcript(s). If you took classes during high school for college credit, you must list them as well.

Q: Do I need to list graduate, professional, or technical courses?

A: YES. You must list the school’s information in the Colleges Attended section and you must enter the courses taken at a graduate, professional, or technical school in the Transcript Entry section of the application.

Q: How do I list Lab courses?

A: If your TRANSCRIPT lists labs separately, then they must be listed separately on your application as well. Please record the lab as it appears on your transcript, with the title, prefix/number, amount of credits, and grade given. If your transcript combines lab/lecture courses into one class on a transcript, they should be reported as one entry on your application.

Q: Some of my courses for the term are complete, but others are still in-progress. What do I do?

A: VMCAS does not allow applicants to enter a partial terms. All courses for a term must be listed as complete with grades on your transcript in order for you to input the term as complete. Otherwise, all courses for the term must be listed as in-progress and updated transcripts sent directly to your programs.

Q: I received academic forgiveness/academic renewal/grade replacement for repeated courses. How do I indicate this on my application?

A: You cannot. Because VMCAS is required to standardize grades across all colleges, we cannot accept individual schools’ “forgiveness policies” regarding repeated course grades. If you have retaken a course at the same school you may mark it as “Repeat” under “Course Type,” but both grades will still factor into your GPA. Please note that some veterinary programs will recalculate your GPA to include only your more recent grade, while others will retain the VMCAS calculation depending on their individual policies.

Q: How do I edit a course or term I have already entered?

A: As long as you have not yet e-submitted your application, you can edit courses or terms by clicking the pencil icon to the right of each entry. You can delete courses or terms by clicking the trash icon. You CANNOT edit or delete term information when classes are listed underneath the term. The classes must be removed to edit term information.

Q: Do I need to list classes that I took overseas?

A: The procedure for Study Abroad coursework varies depending on your type of program and how it is reported by your domestic institution. Please go through the checklist below to determine how to report your experience and contact VMCAS Customer Service with any questions.

NOTE: This procedure has changed since last cycle. If you are re-applying, please read through this section carefully.

1. STUDY VIA AN OVERSEAS U.S. INSTITUTION:
  • Did you study at any of the schools on our Overseas U.S. Institutions List? (you can view this list further down this page) If so:
    • Report the school from the list and list your coursework under the Overseas school. You will then select these courses as “Study Abroad” during the Review and Finalize my Transcripts process.
    • A transcript sent to VMCAS directly from the Overseas U.S. Institution is REQUIRED.
    • Common schools that fall under this category: RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LONDON and JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
2. STUDY VIA ANOTHER U.S. INSTITUTION:
  • Did you use another U.S. school’s program to study abroad, or study via Semester At Sea, SIT or a CEA study abroad program in their Global Campus Network? If so:
    • Report the U.S. school whose program you used, and list your coursework under this U.S. school. You will then select these courses as “Study Abroad” during the Review and Finalize my Transcripts process.
    • A transcript sent to VMCAS directly from the U.S. school is REQUIRED.
    • COMMON SCHOOLS that fall under this category: ARCADIA UNIVERSITY, BUTLER UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA (Semester at Sea), UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN (CEA Global Campus Network), and SIT (School for International Training). 
3. STUDY VIA A STUDY ABROAD COMPANY, DIRECTLY VIA YOUR UNDERGRAD OR ANY OTHER METHOD:
  • If FULL CREDITS AND GRADES for these courses appear on your undergraduate transcript, then you should list these courses normally with the rest of your undergraduate work. You will then select these courses as “Study Abroad” during the Review and Finalize my Transcripts process. No additional documentation is necessary. Do NOT report your study abroad school as a foreign institution. Acceptable grades include A-F, Credit, Pass, etc. “TR” for “transfer” is NOT an acceptable grade, nor are credits and grades which do not match those on the rest of your undergrad transcript (ie. the grades are not U.S. grades). If your courses have grades of TR, or are recorded in foreign grades, please use the second option below.
  • If your  CREDITS AND/OR GRADES for these courses DO NOT APPEAR on your undergraduate transcript, you should report that you attended a foreign institution. You do not need to list your courses under the foreign school, as VMCAS does not allow foreign coursework to be entered. DO NOT SEND DOCUMENTATION UNLESS AN EVALUATION IS REQUIRED BY YOUR VETERINARY PROGRAM. Please check with the program to determine if they will require a foreign transcript evaluation.

NOTE: VMCAS no longer recognizes study abroad company transcripts. If you studied abroad via a company such as IES, ISA, CIEE, DIS, etc., please use option #3 above to determine how to properly report your study abroad.

Q: My school uses a narrative transcript. What do I do?

A: To enter this school into your coursework section, you should list all of your courses as you would for a regular institution. If your transcript provides “suggested” credits and/or grades, enter those as well. Otherwise, list the credits as “0.0” and the grades as “Pass.” Although these will not factor into your GPA, your schools will see the list of classes you took, and a copy of the official narrative transcript from your school which you will submit to VMCAS can be viewed by your veterinary programs.

PLEASE NOTE: EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS are required to enter the individual courses and credits on their transcript, NOT the “Module” title and overall credits. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Q: If planned or in-progress courses are not listed on my transcript, can I still include them on the application?

A: YES. VMCAS does NOT verify in-progress or planned work, and therefore these courses are not required to be documented on your transcripts.

Q: I don’t know the specific course information for my planned coursework, such as the course prefix and number. What do I do?

A: Enter the course information to the best of your ability. Planned/in-progress courses can be edited in the future once you have more information.

Q: Some of the courses in my current term are completed, while others are in-progress. How do I list these on my application?

A: VMCAS applicants may NOT list a partially completed term on their application. Until you have completed all courses within a given term, you must list all of your courses for the term as in-progress. Applicants should then send updated transcripts to their programs upon completion of the term.

Q: I’m planning on taking prerequisite courses in the future but have not enrolled in them yet and/or I do not know where I will be taking them. Can I still list these as planned?

A: Yes. VMCAS does not verify these courses, and therefore does not require verification of enrollment or registration at a school. Should your plans change, however, you should update the programs you are applying to as soon as possible.

Q: My GPA has been calculated but I have now completed my in-progress work. Can VMCAS update my GPA?

A: NO. If your GPA has already been calculated, VMCAS will NOT update your GPA.

Q: My GPA has NOT yet been calculated and I have completed my in-progress work. Can I send my updated course information to VMCAS?

A: YES. However, your updated transcripts must arrive at VMCAS prior to your GPA calculation. VMCAS will NOT hold your application for an updated transcript. If your GPA is calculated while your transcript is still in-transit, you will need to send your updated information directly to your veterinary programs.

Q: Why do I have to input my coursework? Why can’t VMCAS input my coursework for me if you have my transcripts?

A: It is the responsibility of the applicant to record all coursework as it appears on your official transcripts, and VMCAS uses your transcripts to verify the accuracy of your reported information and to calculate your GPA. The coursework entry process on the VMCAS application standardizes your transcripts and grades for the veterinary programs so that they can compare your transcript’s varying grade values, credit values, and course subjects on an even playing field with all other applicants who are applying. It is not uncommon for applicants to have many classes and several degrees to list.

Q: Can you tell me how my coursework looks on my transcripts or send a copy/fax of my transcripts to me?

A: NO. As per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, once a transcript arrives at VMCAS, it becomes illegal for us to release that information to any third party, including the individuals who originally sent it. All applicants must obtain their own copy of their official transcripts in order to properly fill out their application.