STARS FAQ

The Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS) is a platform that allows you to submit your courses and grades to the UW.  All applicants are required to submit their academic record through the STARS platform instead of the “Courses & Grades” section of the Common App. The UW will not accept self-reported courses and grades through the Common App.

The University of Washington is moving to the STARS (Self-reported Academic Record System) platform to streamline and standardize how first-year applicants submit their coursework and grades. While the Common App’s “Courses & Grades” section works well for many standard high school setups, STARS provides a more specialized, robust system that accurately captures a wider variety of grading scales, unique term schedules and dual enrollment credits, like Running Start. STARS also gives students the option to upload their transcripts directly, allowing them to communicate their achievements more accurately and in less time. By shifting to this dedicated platform, the UW ensures that a student’s academic record can be reviewed with greater precision and consistency.

All first-year applicants — including U.S., international, Running Start and homeschool students — are required to submit their courses and grades through the STARS platform. 

You will be able to access the STARS platform through your UW Application Portal after submitting your application. Note that we are unable to accept changes to your academic record after it is submitted to the UW. 

• UW first-year application deadline (on the Common App): November 15, 2026
• STARS academic record submission deadline: November 22, 2026

You may start working on your STARS record as early as ninth grade. Create your account, begin uploading or entering your classes and grades, and save your progress on the STARS login page.

It’s free to complete the STARS record and submit it to institutions.

• Log in or create a STARS account 
• Search, add and enter your high school information
• Define your school’s grading scale
• If you attended a school or schools within the U.S., you may scan or upload your transcripts into the STARS system, or you may manually enter your courses and grades exactly as they appear on your high school transcript. If you attended a school or schools outside of the U.S., you will need to manually enter your courses and grades exactly as they appear on your transcript. 

• Enter courses from every high school or college you attended, including all planned or projected courses for your senior year (even if you do not have a grade).
• Edit your STARS as needed before you submit your academic record to the UW. Note that we are unable to accept changes to your academic record after it is submitted to the UW.

If you attended more than one high school or college, upload or manually enter your grades and coursework for each school attended. For detailed instructions, visit the STARS online support center page on how to enter your grades and coursework for each school.

Yes. College courses that were taken as part of your high school coursework as a homeschool student should be listed under your high school. For detailed instructions, visit the STARS online support center page on how to enter dual enrollment and college courses.

If you received high school credit for courses taken in middle/junior high school, you should include those courses in your STARS record. Often, high school credits earned in middle/junior high school will appear on your high school transcript.

Yes. College courses that appear on your high school transcript should be listed under your high school. For detailed instructions, visit the STARS online support center page on how to enter dual enrollment and college courses.

College courses should be listed under your high school in the term that corresponds to when the course was taken at the college. On the ‘Enter Coursework’ page, you will use the ‘Course Level’ field to indicate the type of course (e.g., dual enrollment, dual credit, college credit plus, etc.) and the name of the college or university where it was taken. 

After you submit your STARS report to the UW, you should see a screen that confirms your submission was completed. Within 24–72 hours, your UW Application Portal will show that your STARS report has been received.

You may make edits to your STARS report any time BEFORE you submit it to the UW. We are unable to accept changes to your academic record after it is submitted to the UW.

If you are a first-year applicant and do not submit a STARS record by December 1, 2026, your application will be considered incomplete and will not be considered for admission. The UW will not import information from the “Courses & Grades” section of the Common App.  If you are unable to submit a STARS record due to extenuating circumstances, contact the UW Office of Admissions.

Yes. We encourage you to start the STARS record as soon as you have completed high school coursework. This will cut down on the time you have to spend on STARS when you are filling out college applications. 

Please meet with your high school counselor or college advisor to finalize a projected full senior year schedule before submitting your application. It is important that you report your intended full senior year schedule when submitting the application. 

If you anticipate your senior year schedule might change, please let us know in the “Additional information” optional writing section of the Common App.