Do high school transcripts actually matter?

I'm putting this here instead of in Minor Rants because I'd like to get a bit of feedback.

The backstory goes like this.  Divorced 10 years ago and the ex got the kids for all but the every other weekend BS.  Technically we had 50/50 "legal" custody but she did whatever she wanted with their education which involved changing their schools several times.  Our son is a pretty ADHD lad did the worst with this and ended up with a couple of years of home schooling before she found him a small christian school which agreed his educational development was such that he would be able to graduate on time (roughly 18 1/2).  He started there his junior year.

Beginning his senior year he expressed a strong desire to get away from his mother and come live with me.  When his school got word of this they pulled out a contract for me that said I had to take an oath(!) that I would be a strong evangelical christian or he wouldn't be allowed to attend their school.  He was already of the bubble due to being behind from the E36 M3ty home schooling so he stayed with his mother for most of his senior year.

Then covid hit and he was sent home to finish his work online.  During the last 3 weeks before graduation they sent out some nasty-grams saying he needed XX assignments turned in and with great effort we got everything completed.. Done.  He graduated.  berkeleying yay!  Diploma in hand!!

Until a week later when his school calls him and his mother in for a conference.  Apparently upon "reviewing his senior year" they weren't entirely happy with the quality of his work.  Would he please (and for another $1000) do another 4 weeks of work?  Well June went by like this, him saying he was getting it done but procrastinating.   Then July.  He probably got 80% of this extra work done but it was really killing his spirit and has pretty well ruined his summer (what a joyous summer of C-19 but still).

He's enlisting in the Air Force and will ship out as soon as he gets a training date (super smart kid, got a 98 on the ASVAB).

Oh, and his mother is taking back the car she bought him (with my money) which was conditional upon him finishing HS.  

So with a diploma in hand does any of it matter?  Is there a situation where anyone will call these shiny happy people and ask about his HS transcripts?  Do I call or visit them in person and explain how bad this makes them look and to just let the poor kid go with a blessing on his way to serve our country?   Lawyer up and threaten to sue?  What says the hive?

I've never had anyone ever look into my high school stuff, much to my disappointment because my transcript was AWESOME. Even at college application they asked if I had a diploma or GED and left it there. I imagine if it's fine with the military that's all anyone is going to see when he gets out.

There's an exception to everything, but in my experience the only person/entity that ever cared about high school transcripts was whoever hires/teaches you immediately after high school. As soon as there's something between high school and the next thing, be it college, a job, the military, etc., then it absolutely doesn't matter. 

I vote call and complain to see if they'll bend, but otherwise join the Air Force and focus on the rest of his life. 

There is a good chance that a college would go look for them once he applies to use the GI Bill he's going to earn, but there's also a good chance that there's going to be a major disruption in higher education over the next few years so they may just be desperate for enrollment and be really lax.  Community colleges & tech schools probably won't care either, most likely.  As soon as he's enrolled at any college, no one will care about high school ever again.   I doubt anyone in the real word would care about it either. 

So it's probably worth it to have a nice, polite, but pointed conversation about what a bad look this is.  Other than that, document the hell out of everything and have it in your back pocket.  And keep ahold of the diploma in case you need to "prove" he graduated...

and give him a high five and a "thanks for serving" from angrycorvair.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

and give him a high five and a "thanks for serving" from angrycorvair.

Agreed.

Just wanted to say that he must be really smart because the Air Force only takes the best.  I might be biased.

Sounds like a E36 M3ty situation.

99% chance that no, nobody cares.  But on the off chance that things don't work out in the military or someone does care, it seems to me it would be worth completing that last 20% of the work.

I bet the private school cares more about how his grades affect them more than it affects your son with a diploma in hand.  

What I mean is they probably like to advertise some statistic about overall class GPA or grade averages, etc.  Schools also like statements about percentage of college placement too.  The enlistment might screw with that stat too.  

I agree with Tom.  I think the focus now needs to be boot camp survival and then AF life.  How well he does here and the next 4 years will be the real deciding factor to his future endeavors and future success.  

Congrats on the AF.  I never served but my wife grew up a AF brat, father was a 30yr enlisted man finishing as Chief Master Sargent.  She is the youngest of 6 kids and she is the only who did not join the military or marry the military; all as officers.  They have all had a good life from it.  

"This will go down on your permanent record!"  Yeah, about that.  No one looks at nor cares about high school transcripts other than college admissions staff.  If your kid is not trying to get into a competitive university then a diploma will suffice.

It's my belief that you should try to get the most out of education and training opportunities.  That often translates into good grades, but not always.  The overall goal is to learn something useful, not to get an A.

John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:

I bet the private school cares more about how his grades affect them more than it affects your son with a diploma in hand.  What I mean is they probably like to advertise some statistic about overall class GPA or grade averages, etc.  Schools also like statements about percentage of college placement too.  The enlistment might screw with that stat too.  

Bingo!

I don't remember if I had to give a HS transcript when I enrolled in college in 2000 or not. I think just my GPA (not great) and my ACT score (pretty good).........were enough. But I wouldn't testify to it as that was 20+ years ago. 

I have my college transcript around here somewhere because I've been hemhawing on graduate school for a decade. But my GPA was low enough (school never motivated me much, earning money does) that I'll have to enroll in the certificate program, keep my grades up, then switch it to the actual Master's program. But it's been hard to motivate myself when my two bosses at my current gig have said with my experience, a Master's isn't going to help me move up any faster.

He has a high school diploma. Air Force accepted it. ASVAB was great.  Ya'll are done. 

 I guess the transcript could come up if he goes for some high grade security clearance but the investigators will talk to everyone that ever crossed his path anyway.  

I can see it mattering in two ways:  First, if they try to say that giving him the diploma was an error and he didn't actually graduate.  I have no idea if a school can do that, but on the off chance that anyone ever challenges the fact that he graduated high school, it could cause problems.  Like if he runs for political office or something or it's one of those one-off weird firings where they can argue that he lied on his application form or something stupid.  Second is if they say that he graduated but assign him a very low GPA.  My guess is that "Air Force" will mean more than GPA in terms of being accepted in the first place and I would further assume that "GI Bill" will help out where the GPA might not qualify him for a scholarship.

Get his transcript if you can. If he applies for some of the educational programs or plans in using his TA (Tuition Assistance, pays for college classes while you're serving so you don't have to use your GI Bill) . Also, I think the Community College of the Air Force asks for HS transcript when they see what credits he can already get towards his CCAF (big deal). 

Source? Currently serving in the Air Force. Enlisted back in 2007 and I know they asked for it at least once in my first few years in. 

Also, I know he's about to ship off etc but have him start looking beyond the Air Force early on. Especially if he's super smart he needs to use the Air Force as a stepping stone to greater things. Because the military does not use people to the best of their abilities nor do they really have your overall future in mind. Only care about how serviceable you are to them. Yeah I said it lol

Anyway if you'd like, pass him my info. I'd love to talk to him. I love mentoring and being real with fresh young Airmen so they don't fall into some pitfalls and traps that I was not warned about when I joined. 

Cherrodover@gmail.com 

jharry3 said:

He has a high school diploma. Air Force accepted it. ASVAB was great.  Ya'll are done. 

 I guess the transcript could come up if he goes for some high grade security clearance but the investigators will talk to everyone that ever crossed his path anyway.  

With the diploma, and doing great on asvab, congratulations from anyone is all that applys. I’ve been involved with clearances since forever, and it’s a non issue now that Air Force accepts him!

I'm pretty sure I had to get my highschool transcripts sent to the University I attended after my stint in the military (ended 2005).  I'm just guessing here, but it's probably just GPA reference and placement (ie:  which level of math to start him at).  If it can be fixed now, I'd probably try.  But if it's turning into stress headaches then berk it.  There's enough stress going on right now.

Besides, after his military training he might not even want/need/desire a college education.

Congrats on the ASVAB scores though, holy smokes!
 

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

Air Force highly encourages college education while serving. HIGHLY HIGHLY encourages it. Plus, it's easy to get an undergrad degree for free all online. Even a graduate degree if he wants. 

Does his transcript say he graduated?  When I applied for my first several jobs even after college they asked for my Transcripts not my Diploma.  The last line of both my College and HS Transcripts indicated that I had graduated.  

So I would make sure the transcript says he graduated but not care about what GPA or any other information on it.  

I "think" they will also help him sort through this when he's serving. As stated, they have a TON of opportunities and encouragement to pursue college education while serving. If he wants to get on that path, he should have people help his work through things to get the ball rolling. Once he's earning college credits then nobody will really care about high school. 

And if he's holding his high school diploma, he's graduated. Good job. 

In reply to yupididit :

Yeah, the push was just starting in the Navy when I got out, which is probably why I never needed them until after I got out.  I've noticed the TA program is used a lot more in the AF than it ever was while I was in.

Speaking of which.  I work with the USAF out here.  If he finds himself in Hungary, let me know and I'll start acquiring commie cars to send back with him. 

(Son) This is my first of hopefully very few posts on here. You guys managed to put together a pamphlet of information in barely an hour. To answer some questions you might have: yes i have my diploma, no i cannot complete the work assigned to me as it was taken down, yes im willing and able to acquire my GED, no my recruiter doesnt know this is going on, yes id like to pursue higher education after the air force, no the school isnt willing (currently) to work with me on this

In reply to Carenthusiast42069 :

Email me!  

After I graduated from high school, I worked for 13 years before deciding to go to college. We'd had a house fire, so I didn't have a copy of my high school diploma, which I needed to produce so that I could start college.

I went back to the high school and they couldn't find it. They finally managed to dig out microfilm records. 

No one has ever cared about my 1.8 high School GPA. I was admitted to veterinary school on my first try.

Anybody that looks at this situation objectively will understand that the school was trying to get more money out of you.

In reply to yupididit :

Who emails?

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Housefire, got it. You overestimate most peoples "objective" opinion.