Homeschool Transcripts · College Applications
Copy it line by line from your homeschool transcript: every course in the year it was taken, with the same title, credit and grade, choosing the home-educated option instead of typing your homeschool as a registered school. STARS is the self-reported record that replaced SRAR and SSAR on August 1, 2025. About 40 colleges use it, and several, including the University of Florida, Penn State and the University of Washington, will not review an application without it. Colleges check it against your official transcript later, so the two must match.
Yes, it is the same system under a new name. STARS stands for Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System, and its login page says it was formerly SRAR and SSAR. The switch happened on August 1, 2025, and existing accounts carried over. It is run by Scarlet Computing Solutions, not the College Board or the Common App.
Many colleges' pages and older guides still say SRAR, which is why parents searching that name land on out-of-date instructions. If a college asks for an SRAR or SSAR today, it means STARS. One account works for every participating college: you build the record once, then link each college you apply to.
STARS publishes its own list, updated August 2026, of about 40 colleges that accept or require it, from Baylor and NYU to Rutgers, Texas A&M and the University of Tennessee. Being on the list does not always mean it is required, so check each college's own page. These say it is required:
| College | What its page says | Official transcript due |
|---|---|---|
| University of Washington | Required of all first-year applicants, homeschool students named; Common App Courses & Grades not accepted | Check the college's page |
| University of Florida | Must be completed and linked; Common App Courses & Grades does not count | By July 1 after admission |
| Florida State University | Required of all first-year applicants from U.S.-based schools | Check the college's page |
| University of North Florida | Required of everyone attending a U.S.-based school | By July 15 |
| University of Delaware | Required, including for homeschoolers on a traditional U.S. curriculum | By July 15, showing a graduation date |
| Penn State | Application is incomplete without it | Check the college's page |
| University of Pittsburgh | Required of first-year applicants except international students | Check the college's page |
| Virginia Tech | Required of first-year applicants home-educated in the U.S. | Before enrollment |
| University of Oregon | Every first-year applicant must self-report all coursework | Check the college's page |
| Texas A&M | Replaces the transcript at application in most cases | Final homeschool transcript by mail or hand delivery, not email |
Two exceptions are worth knowing. The University of Rhode Island no longer asks students to complete STARS and fills it in from the transcripts it receives. The University of Illinois runs its own self-reported record inside its myIllini portal, separate from STARS, and cannot use the courses and grades you entered in the Common App.
Yes, if your student followed a curriculum patterned on the usual U.S. high school sequence. Florida, North Florida, Florida State and Delaware all use that wording. If your program looks very different, such as an unschooling portfolio, contact the college's admissions office before you start, because some colleges accept another format instead.
Some colleges add homeschool steps on top of STARS. Pitt asks homeschool applicants for a Home School Supplemental Form, an academic recommendation and a course list by year. Oregon asks you to list any outside school as well, for example a language class taken at a public high school.
Use the home-educated option rather than typing your homeschool's name as if it were a registered school. For U.S. schools, STARS searches by school code, which an unregistered homeschool does not have; parents filling it out this fall report a home-educated button in that step. STARS also offers Home Educated as the class rank answer for students without one.
If you cannot find the option for your college, stop and email the admissions office rather than inventing a school entry. The transcript you send later carries your homeschool's name, and the college will match the two.
Enter STARS from your transcript, never from memory. The college compares your STARS record with the official transcript you send after admission, course by course. If your transcript lists courses by year with titles such as "Dual: English Composition I" and "AP: Biology", each STARS line is a straight copy, and the level you pick matches what the transcript shows.
Enter each college course under your homeschool, not under the college, and set its level to Dual Enrollment. STARS's own help says homeschoolers should enter college courses under the home school. Put each course in the school year it was taken, so a course from 11th grade and another from 12th go in different years.
The University of Washington and Delaware add a rule for everyone: if a college course is on your high school transcript, list it under the high school in the term it was taken. Summer courses go in the school year that just ended, at Penn State, Oregon and Florida State. Penn State wants an AP or Honors level if the course also carries one, while Virginia Tech wants Dual Enrollment, so check the college's page if a course is both.
Fill in one semester and leave the other blank. STARS's help says a one-semester course gets a single grade, and credits are entered as they appear on the transcript, so a 0.5-credit art class is entered once with 0.5. The second semester box looks required but is not; leaving it empty is the correct entry.
For a full-year course, use Full Year when your transcript shows one final grade, and Semester only when it shows separate fall and spring grades. North Florida, which collects grades by semester, asks for a year-long final grade to be entered in both semesters. Do not average grades to fit a box; Delaware says so directly.
Enter every senior-year course, including ones in progress or not yet started, with the credit you expect to earn. STARS's help says in-progress credit is never zero. Leave the grade as in progress; Delaware's instructions say to enter IP. Your transcript should show the same courses marked IP, so the two still match.
Enter unweighted grades when your transcript shows them, and select AP, IB or Dual Enrollment only if your transcript lists the course that way. Both rules come from STARS's help pages. Colleges add their own weighting: Oregon, for example, adds a point for AP and dual enrollment courses and half a point for Honors.
This is where a clear transcript pays off. If the level is in the course title and the transcript shows both weighted and unweighted GPA, nothing in STARS has to be interpreted. Penn State asks for a weighted annual GPA when both appear, so have both ready.
A mismatch can cost the offer. Illinois says an admission offer "will be rescinded" if the self-report does not match. North Florida, Florida State, Oregon and Delaware warn that admission or scholarships can be revoked or changed. Enter exactly what the transcript says, including a low grade, and fix any error before you submit.
The college can withdraw the offer of admission or a merit award. Florida checks STARS against your transcript after admission, and Illinois, North Florida, Florida State, Oregon, Delaware and Penn State all state consequences for a mismatch. An honest correction made before the deadline is the safe route; a discrepancy found after admission is not.
Usually yes: STARS lets you reopen a submitted record in Edit Mode and submit it again. Some colleges must approve the change first, including Clemson, Penn State, Texas A&M, the University of South Florida and the University of Washington. Oregon accepts updates until February 15, Delaware handles changes by email, and Illinois uses its own course change form.
Is SRAR still used?
The name is not. SRAR and SSAR became STARS on August 1, 2025, and existing logins carried over. A college page that still says SRAR means STARS.
Does the Common App Courses and Grades section count for STARS colleges?
No. They are separate systems. The University of Florida and the University of Washington both say Courses and Grades does not replace STARS. The Common App reported 77 colleges using Courses and Grades and 38 using STARS in 2025-26.
Do homeschoolers still send a transcript if they complete STARS?
Yes, usually after admission. Florida wants it by July 1, Delaware and North Florida by July 15, and Texas A&M wants the final homeschool transcript by mail or hand delivery. The college uses it to confirm what you entered.
Does one STARS record work for several colleges?
Yes. You build one record and link each participating college. It reaches a college only after you submit the record and link that college, so check every college on your list.
What if a STARS box asks for two semester grades on a half-credit course?
Enter the one grade in the semester it was earned and leave the other blank. STARS's help says to leave the second semester empty for a one-semester course.
FastTranscripts.com lists every course by year with its credit, puts the level in the title, and shows weighted and unweighted GPA, so each STARS line is a copy, not a calculation. Start free, no credit card.
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