How to get a translated transcript: steps for translating by yourself

Key points of this article

Whether the transcripts you have translated yourself can be used, you must first ask the receiving institution. Their regulations are more important than any translation method.
Before uploading, please confirm whether the original is a PDF with Chinese characters optional, or a scan or photo. The verification points after processing are different for the two.
The bilingual version facilitates line-by-line verification of the original document. Only the translated version is suitable for direct submission or printing. You can choose one of the two according to the requirements of the other party.
After translation, the name, certificate number, course name, credits and grades must be checked. The machine translation results cannot be used without looking at them.
Forms, page numbers and grade descriptions are areas where errors are easy to make. Check them page by page against the original before handing it over.

Many people are asked to provide English translations of transcripts when applying to study abroad, transfer to another school, submit a resume, or apply for an overseas scholarship. Transcripts issued by schools are usually only in Chinese, and direct submission is not accepted, so I subconsciously look for translation services. However, for situations where it is only used for preliminary judgment, or the recipient allows self-translation, you can also complete a usable translation by yourself.

This article is written for students and parents who need to organize the English version of their report cards. After reading, you will know what questions to ask first, how to translate transcripts into English on OmniDoc, how to generate bilingual comparison documents, and what to check item by item after getting the results. The article will specifically state: Whether a self-translated document can be accepted depends on the regulations of the receiving institution, and this article does not make a judgment for any institution.

How to get a translated transcript? One sentence conclusion

How to get a translated transcript? The first step is not to open the translation tool, but to confirm which form the other party accepts. The same transcript has different requirements for keeping it yourself, submitting it to an overseas school, or submitting it to an employer. The table below gives suggestions based on common situations.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
Just keep it for yourself or understand the content	Direct translation, output only translation or bilingual comparison, self-checking	No formal documents are required, the key is that the content is accurate and easy to read
The other party accepts ordinary translations and only requires English content.	Generate a bilingual version and keep the translated version as a backup	The bilingual version makes it easier for the other party to compare the original text with you line by line.
The other party explicitly requires certified translation, signature or notarization	First ask the other party what format they accept, and then decide whether to find a qualified agency.	Self-translated documents usually do not have certification effect and cannot be stamped with the seal of any organization.
The original is a scan, photo or photograph	First confirm whether the text can be selected before uploading; after translating the text, focus on checking the numbers.	Scanned copies can be uploaded directly for translation, but the clarity of the original will affect the results.
Transcripts have many tables and complex columns	After uploading, check the rows, columns and headers page by page.	The table will be retained, but individual cells still need to be manually confirmed

Simply put, self-translation is more suitable for "understanding, backup, and first draft" purposes. Once the other party makes a formal request, the other party's regulations should prevail, not whether the self-translated document "looks decent".

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Take a few minutes to confirm the following items before you start, so you can avoid finding out that you don’t need them after you finish the translation.

Subject to specific requirements of the receiving institution. Go to the school admissions office, the employer's material description or email to find the original text to confirm whether "self-translation" is accepted, whether the translator's signature is required, and whether the translation method needs to be explained. When the rules are not clear, ask the person directly and don’t guess.
Whether the original copy is complete. Make sure you have a complete transcript issued by the school, including all semesters, headers, footers and stamped pages. Translations with missing pages will be considered incomplete.
File format. Original PDF or clear scan preferred. If you only have photos taken with your mobile phone, retake them first to make sure the text, table lines and numbers are clear. Oblique shots and shadows will affect recognition.
How to write document information. The name, date of birth, student ID number, and ID number must be word for word consistent with the passport or ID card. Once the pinyin, capitalization and delimiters are different, the other party is likely to ask for clarification.
Correspondence between grade terms. Grades (such as "Excellent", "Good", "Pass"), credit system descriptions, and scoring ratios are usually expressed in official English on the school's grade description page. Use it if you can find it. Don't rely entirely on literal translations from machine translation.

Steps to translate transcripts in OmniDoc

The following steps apply to operations on the omnidoc.top web page, and the document translation process on the desktop client is basically the same.

Prepare original documents. Find the complete transcript issued by the school, confirm that the pages are not blocked or blurred, and put all pages in the same file.
Determine whether it is a scanned copy. Open the file and try to select a Chinese paragraph with the mouse. If it can be selected, it means it is a digital PDF; if it cannot be selected, it is usually a picture or scanned copy. In both cases, you can upload it, but the scanned copy needs to be checked more carefully.
Open omnidoc.top and upload the file. Select the document translation function and upload the transcript file. Common formats such as PDF (including scanned copies), Word, and Excel are supported. If the transcript is exported from an Excel table, it can also be uploaded directly.
Set target language and style. Select English as the target language. If there are style options that are similar to your transcript (e.g., academic, business), choose the one that is more relevant.
Select the output format. When verification is required, select bilingual comparison; when printing or submitting directly, select translation only. Both versions can be generated, and it is recommended to save both.
Waiting for processing and downloading the translation. After the processing is completed, download the translation file and browse it as a whole on the computer to confirm that the number of pages, tables and page layout are basically complete.
Modify individual translations or text. If you find that a course name or grade term needs to be changed to the school’s official writing method, you can use the PDF editor on the desktop client to directly modify the text of the paragraph and save it after modification.
Export editable version on demand. If the other party requires a Word file for modification, you can use a PDF editor to export it to Word format and check it page by page.

After completing the above steps, do not rush to submit. The verification in the next section is more important than the translation itself.

Check each item after completion

The results of machine translation require manual verification. The following table lists common errors in transcripts. It is recommended to check each item against the original.

Check items	How to see	What to do if there is a problem
Name, student number, date of birth	Verbatim comparison with passport or ID, pay attention to capitalization and pinyin	If there is any difference, immediately change it back to the same way as the document, and do not keep the automatic spelling of the translation.
Course name	Check the original by line to make sure there are no missed courses and no serial.	Use the editor to fix it, or go back to the original and re-translate the page
Credits, grades, GPA, etc.	Compare the original one by one, not only to see whether the translation is smooth or not	Digital errors must be corrected directly. Numbers are the focus of checking and should be checked first.
Grade and score description	Compare with the school's performance statement page or official English statement	No official terms can be found, keep the original text and add short comments with the permission of the other party.
Table structure	Check whether the number of rows, headers and data correspond to each other, and whether the total rows are retained	When the table is misplaced, go back to the bilingual control version and find the corresponding position correction.
Number and number of pages	The number of pages in the translation is the same as that of the original, the page number is continuous, and there are no missing pages.	If the page is missing, re-export it to make sure that all pages contain
Date and seal description	Confirm that the date format (such as 2024-06 or June 2024) meets the requirements of the other party	When the other party has a format stipulation, it shall be revised uniformly in accordance with the regulations.

There is another principle to pay attention to when checking: both machine translation and OCR recognition can make mistakes. Please check the important contents item by item. Don't omit this step just because the translation is smooth.

# Core comparison

There are three common methods for transcript translation, each of which has its own applicable scenarios:

Practice	Applicable scenario	Matters needing attention
Self-translation, translation only	Self-retention, internal preliminary examination, high speed	If the other party requests bilingual check, this version is not enough.
Self-translation, bilingual control	The source text and the translation are side by side, easy for each other or yourself to check line by line, suitable for most situations where the translation needs to be explained.	The workload of checking is larger than that of the translated version, but it is easier to find omissions.
Please be translated or certified by a qualified organization	The other party explicitly requires authentication, translation, signature or notarization.	The cost and cycle are determined by the organization and will not be evaluated in this paper.

Three approaches can be combined: first, use a self-translated version to sort out the content, confirm the terminology, and then decide whether a formally certified version is required.

# frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. Can the transcript be translated by yourself?

You can translate it yourself for retention, preliminary review or internal reference. Whether it can be used for formal submission depends on the regulations of the receiving organization. Many organizations require certification of translation, and self-translation may not be accepted.

2. Do I need to seal the transcript translated by myself?

Cannot affix the seal of the school, translation agency or notary office on its own. If the other party asks the translator to sign or explain the translation, it can be written according to the format of the other party; if you need to seal or authenticate, you should contact a qualified organization for it.

3. What if the transcript translation is rejected?

First, ask the other party to explain the specific reasons for non-acceptance, whether it is a format problem, lack of authentication, or incomplete content. According to the feedback supplement or modification, can not meet the part, and then consider to ask a professional body to deal with.

4. Can the scanned transcript be translated directly?

The translation can be uploaded directly, but the clarity of the scanned piece will affect the recognition result. After the translation is completed, the numbers, names and forms are checked more carefully than the digital version.

5. How to standardize the translation of grades?

Priority should be given to the use of the school grade statement page or the official English expression provided by the academic administration department. If you cannot find the official way of writing, you can refer to the English template of the school's transcript and make sure that it is consistent with the requirements of the other party when checking.

# Summary

The key to how to do the transcript translation is to confirm the requirements of the recipient, then use OmniDoc to complete the translation, generate a control version, and check the names, numbers, courses and forms item by item. The self-translated version is suitable for retention and preliminary examination, and the regulations of the receiving organization shall prevail in formal occasions.

Open OmniDoc, upload the document and start translation.