The SRAR. The what?
Around this time of year, many students excitedly hit “submit” on their applications (hooray!), only to log in to their college-specific admissions portals a few days later to see those dreaded words: application incomplete. They submitted their application, their essays, their scores and teacher recommendations, so what’s the deal? Upon closer inspection, they see the item that’s missing: the SRAR. The what?
Fear not, students, and read on!
What is this SRAR thing?
SRAR (pronounced suh-RAHR) stands for self-reported academic record. Essentially, it asks students to report their entire high school transcripts themselves in a specific format. There also used to be the SSAR, used by the Florida university system, but these have merged—so these days there is (blessedly) only one self-reported system outside of the Common App. And once a student has filled it out once, they don’t need to do so again, even if other colleges to which they are applying require it.
Why do colleges use this?
In general, using the SRAR allows colleges to review applications more quickly, because they do not have to wait for their systems to process students’ transcripts as they come in. We tend to see colleges with very large applicant pools (think big state schools) as well as colleges with rolling admissions policies use the SRAR.
But they have my transcript! Do I really have to do it?
Alas, you really do. Colleges that require the SRAR will not consider your file complete until you fill it out. This is why checking your admissions portals is so important—you do not want to overlook a requirement like this and, say, miss out on being considered in the early pool.
What if I make a mistake on my SRAR?
Contact the school! They can unlock it for you so that you can make a change. It’s important to make corrections if you find an error; if you matriculate to a college, they will compare your transcript on file to your SRAR to ensure the information is correct.
Is that different from the Courses & Grades section on the Common App?
Unfortunately, yes. This means some lucky students will have to fill out their whole transcripts not once, but twice. If this is you, we are sorry and we agree that it’s a huge pain.
Which colleges use the SRAR?
Here is the current list, per SRAR’s website:
- Baylor University
- Clemson University
- Duquesne University
- Florida A & M University
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida Polytechnic University
- Florida State University
- Kean University
- Louisiana State University
- Montclair State University
- New College of Florida
- New York University (NYU)
- Northeastern University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Rutgers University, Camden
- Rutgers University, Newark
- Rutgers University, New Brunswick
- Texas A&M University
- United State Air Force Academy
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York
- University of Connecticut
- University of Delaware
- University of Florida
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- University of North Florida
- University of Oregon
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Rhode Island
- University of South Florida
- University of Tampa
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- University of Texas at Arlington
- University of Texas at San Antonio
- University of West Florida
- Virginia Tech
What if I have questions about filling it out?
Your first stop for SRAR-related questions should be your school counselor, who can advise you on sometimes confusing questions about credits, 8th grade coursework, and dual enrollment. There is also a fairly extensive help guide on the SRAR website.
Still have questions? Reach out to our team!
