SOPHAS is a pain!!!

[daisies2]

Anyone else want to complain about sophas with me? They have had my transcripts and an otherwise completed app for over 2 weeks now!!! I know the holidays delay it all, but uggghh. AND they say that my application won't get priority based on when i e-submitted, they process them in the order they're COMPLETE. What's the point of submitting early? I submitted in mid december. To top it off, processing is at 4 weeks now. I'm feeling frustrated, why is it so hard to open the mail and mark "received?" and some of the employees are SO mean on the phone, according to them postal mail takes 5 days?! yeah right! anyone else care to join me?

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[JMM051]

I understand your frustration, it IS a long process. That said, SOPHAS makes it clear that processing takes 4-6 weeks. You sent your stuff when everyone else was trying to make the deadlines too. It is a stinky situation but this is the way the application process works and they make that pretty clear in the instructions. Instead of being frustrated with the wait, start picturing yourself in your dream program.

 

[blackmetal]

Tell me about it, I'm even more screwed. I e-submitted on 11/30 and just found out that I'm missing a community college transcript for one course I took as a sophomore in high school. I didnt even think I was gonna have to send this transcript. All my schools are telling me that I should have the apps mailed by late January at the latest. I ordered this transcript today and it should be mailed out tmw but who knows how long SOPHAS will take after that. I dont get why it took them 4 weeks to tell me I was missing this transcript (only reason they know is cause my undergrad transcript shows I took it). I probably should've called earlier cause they didnt even do anything until I called. I have no idea if I'm going to make it and if I just wasted a s'hit ton of money.

 

[ekim8]

Tell me about it, I'm even more screwed. I e-submitted on 11/30 and just found out that I'm missing a community college transcript for one course I took as a sophomore in high school. I didnt even think I was gonna have to send this transcript. All my schools are telling me that I should have the apps mailed by late January at the latest. I ordered this transcript today and it should be mailed out tmw but who knows how long SOPHAS will take after that. I dont get why it took them 4 weeks to tell me I was missing this transcript (only reason they know is cause my undergrad transcript shows I took it). I probably should've called earlier cause they didnt even do anything until I called. I have no idea if I'm going to make it and if I just wasted a s'hit ton of money.

for this one course, did you get a grade from it? or just a credit? I also took two course at a different university during my sophomore year summer but it was only to fulfill a university requirement. so whatever grades i got in these two courses did not calculate into my undergraduate gpa. but are still listed in my transcript as a "transferred credit"
do you think i still need to send in a transcript? eventhough its from a international university?

 

[epi201]

If my deadline is Jan 15th, and i just submitted my app on sophas, will i miss the deadline?

(sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm really confused!)

 

[AustinTX]

I just submitted my application, and I know that UT just wants everything in to SOPHAS by their deadline. I imagine it's different for every school.

They do say you need a transcript from every school you earned a college credit at. There are a few study abroad programs they list that you do not need to send transcripts from, but you have to from anywhere else. I believe the information is in the help window of the Coursework section.

 

[ekim8]

thanks for the information! i found it in the help info

 

[daisies2]

omg blackmetal. that stinks! see what i don't understand is why it takes WEEKS to mark "received?" They really are doing us a disservice, they keep saying submit the app early, but it doesn't even make a difference. Now yours wont be in queue until it's "complete." i'm so sorry, i know you must be beyond frustrated. I know I am. I'm wondering if this year i'm too late, i'm applying to MN and they have rolling admin, but fill up fast

epi201, it depends.. you need to check with the school. some require that materials are into sophas, others want it complete by the deadline.

ekim8, i'm guessing they want every transcript, i would err on the side of caution and send it in. Call sophas and ask if you want to be sure though.

thanks to everyone for joining me! At least we dont have to frustrated or confused alone

 

[ekim8]

I called SOPHAS and my "designated schools" to ask if they require my transcript from the foreign universities. They all gave me different answers, which confused me even more.
I found on SOPHAS help info section the following:

"If all courses and/or grades do not appear on your home institution transcript, or if these courses are listed as transfer credit, you must either list the foreign institution or U.S. institution under the Colleges and Universities Attended page.

If you took the courses at a foreign school, you will not need to report the coursework or send a transcript unless your designated schools require it."

my two courses are listed as "transferred credit" from foreign schools, aka not a US institution/ not sponsored by my US institution. I did receive letter grades for these courses at the foreign institution but when they were transferred to my main undergraduate institution, they were just courses completed (without grade/gpa/credit hours) and did not affect my undergrad gpa in any way.

do you think i still need to ask my foreign institution for this transcript for the two courses i took over the summer? if i do send my foreign transcript (which has the letter grades for these two courses), do you think SOPHAS will recalculate my undergrad gpa with these two courses' GPA included?
whats the purpose of SOPHAS' gpa recalculation?

 

[blackmetal]

I called SOPHAS and my "designated schools" to ask if they require my transcript from the foreign universities. They all gave me different answers, which confused me even more.
I found on SOPHAS help info section the following:

"If all courses and/or grades do not appear on your home institution transcript, or if these courses are listed as transfer credit, you must either list the foreign institution or U.S. institution under the Colleges and Universities Attended page.

If you took the courses at a foreign school, you will not need to report the coursework or send a transcript unless your designated schools require it."

my two courses are listed as "transferred credit" from foreign schools, aka not a US institution/ not sponsored by my US institution. I did receive letter grades for these courses at the foreign institution but when they were transferred to my main undergraduate institution, they were just courses completed (without grade/gpa/credit hours) and did not affect my undergrad gpa in any way.

do you think i still need to ask my foreign institution for this transcript for the two courses i took over the summer? if i do send my foreign transcript (which has the letter grades for these two courses), do you think SOPHAS will recalculate my undergrad gpa with these two courses' GPA included?
whats the purpose of SOPHAS' gpa recalculation?

My one community college course taken during high school did transfer to my main undergrad institution just as courses completed and did not affect my undergrad gpa in any way. Nonetheless SOPHAS wants me to send this transcript from 8 years ago and will not calculate my GPA until they have it. So it seems like that would be the case for you. However, my community college institution is American. You took your 2 courses at a foreign school so based on the Help Info, I think you don't need to send transcripts but you do need to fill out the Colleges and Universities Attended section. That's weird. At least that's my interpretation, I would call SOPHAS again just to make sure.

 

[blackmetal]

Does anyone know of anyone who omitted one college or one class under schools attended or coursework? Do I get put back at the end of the verification line (even though e-submitted 11/30)? Do I really have to wait another month for my GPA to be calculated?

 

[jfloriaxx]

Does anyone know of anyone who omitted one college or one class under schools attended or coursework? Do I get put back at the end of the verification line (even though e-submitted 11/30)? Do I really have to wait another month for my GPA to be calculated?

I accidentally forgot to put in the college credit I received for AP courses from high school so they sent me an email saying I had to correct it and re-submit. I spoke to SOPHAS on the phone and they said that your re-submitted app goes back to the person who was reviewing it...not all the way to the back of the line. It only took them 1 business day to verify it and calculate my GPA after I resubmitted. This was back in November so I'm guessing it would take a little longer now that they're busier.

 

[daisies2]

Finally!! This morning my remaining transcripts were marked as received It seems they were received in the end of december, maybe it takes them awhile to update the system. The weird thing is I didn't get a message or email saying it's "complete." I just called them, my app. is in line and today they're working on the first week of December (in case anyone's wondering). Hoping for quick processing ....now i need to tackle the GRE Anyone have any tips/pointers/advice?? I haven't gotten around to studying much

 

[RockForLight]

There are moments in the application process that I felt SOPHAS was in over their head with processing items - especially transcripts. All I know is peak times will exist and SOPHAS states on the site how long each process should take. If can you prove you submitted materials within that time frame I would not worry. Not all universities use this service and SOPHAS has to maintain their reputation to stay in business. If they **** up in anyway you can bet the university will hear about it from the prospective student they lost.

My complaint is the different requirements between SOPHAS and individuals schools. The extra transcripts are a waste of money. The main catch with SOPHAS is that I ended up applying to more schools that I would have otherwise overlooked, given the convenience of all my materials in one place.

 

[blackmetal]

I accidentally forgot to put in the college credit I received for AP courses from high school so they sent me an email saying I had to correct it and re-submit. I spoke to SOPHAS on the phone and they said that your re-submitted app goes back to the person who was reviewing it...not all the way to the back of the line. It only took them 1 business day to verify it and calculate my GPA after I resubmitted. This was back in November so I'm guessing it would take a little longer now that they're busier.

They received my final transcript today and I sent them an email with this question and they just sent me the generic following "Please note that once your application is considered complete, it may take up to four weeks for your GPA to be calculated and your application mailed out to your schools." Damn do I really have to wait 4 more weeks even if I e-submitted 11/30? For one freakin community college class taken in high school? I think I may be really screwed. Should I call them tomorrow even though they gave me an answer?

Also, it says on SOPHAS that "The schools can see your application as soon as you e-submit it and may wish to begin processing your application right away. " Does this mean the schools can see your SOPs, transcripts, LORs, etc.? What's missing then? The SOPHAS GPA?

I hope it doesnt happen but it seems that because I didnt submit my transcript for just one community college course I took in high school, I have to wait 2 months between e-submit and mailing my application. Freakin sucks.

 

[kateosee]

SOPHAS verification is useless. I accidentally listed a class as graduate when I meant upper level. I had almost 200 credits between AP, dual enrollment, and my regular university classes that all had to be put in by hand (seriously... WHY?!) so of course, a mistake is going to happen.

I emailed SOPHAS about it and they said no problem, it'll be taken care of during processing. It wasn't and I had to email them again. It got quickly resolved after that but seriously... if you're not going to catch errors, especially ones that you've been alerted to... what is your purpose?

However, I will say that it's much easier on my recommenders. I can't imagine asking them for recs every time I applied somewhere.

 

[daisies2]

Now we have to wait 5 weeks, because SOPHAS hasn't accounted for Christmas and New Years. hmmm I guess businesses closing over the holidays is a novel idea, therefore they could not adequately prepare for it.

 

[blackmetal]

Well SOPHAS finally calculated my GPA. Does anyone know what day of the week they mail applications.

 

[xoromanticide]

Well SOPHAS finally calculated my GPA. Does anyone know what day of the week they mail applications.

Wednesday

 

[blackmetal]

Wednesday

ok thank you.

 

[bostonmedical]

Wednesday

They only mail out once a week?

 

[jfloriaxx]

They only mail out once a week?

As far as I know, yes.

 

[loopsonflowers]

Wednesday

That's funny- they told me Tuesdays.

 

[xoromanticide]

That's funny- they told me Tuesdays.

Mine was sent out on November 14, which was a Wednesday, so idk.

 

[gumbyj]

Mine was sent out on November 14, which was a Wednesday, so idk.

All of mine have been sent out on Weds as well

 

[cw625]

Yep, mine went out last Wednesday. SOPHAS is pretty terrible with explaining what they want and how it's supposed to be done, but it seems really convenient in the end. I see my friends completing six to ten apps individually, and it is so much more work than this one program. References also love having one online form emailed directly to them.

 

[Squirrel Monkey]

Sophas is extremely unreliable. They seem to have lost 3 of my transcripts. I've never had the post office lose mail and now not one but three articles of mail never made it to Sophas, according to their customer service. I highly doubt that. Now I have to scramble to reorder and pay 15 $ more for my transcripts. What a pain!

 

[MHA1234]

SOPHAS is a scam, just a money maker, no reason to have it at all, all it does it make **** longer, more confusing, does not solve any existing problems current in regular grad school applications

 

[oceanhue]

I honestly didn't have any issues with SOPHAS. It was a quick and painless process for me. The only thing that bothers me is that we have to send our GRE scores to each individual school. I would much prefer to just send it to SOPHAS. But it must be some type of deal that ETS has with SOPHAS and colleges.

 

[truffletumbles]

I submitted my transcripts in early-Oct and didn't complete my application until late-Nov (cutting close to some of the schools that had a 12/1 priority deadline). My application was verified the next day after I submitted my payment. I think it depends on how soon you submitted your transcripts than anything else. I think that's why I had a quick waiting period than most.