SRAR - Which Schools participate in SRAR Transcript reporting

📌 STARS (formerly SRAR/SSAR) — Participation & How to Track It

Some colleges require or accept the STARS (Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System) in place of an official transcript at the time of application. If you know this system as SRAR or SSAR, that's the same system — as of August 2025, both were rebranded under the single STARS name. Logins, submitted records, and account data carried over; only the name changed.

🔗 Participating Schools:
STARS participation is required by a small, evolving subset of colleges, and the list changes throughout each admissions cycle. Rather than publish a static list here that can go out of date, we point you to the source maintained directly by STARS:
Which Colleges Use STARS — official participating school list: https://starsrecord.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/35363280510235-Which-Colleges-Use-STARS

While CounselMore tracks widely adopted admissions trends, STARS is currently required by a small number of colleges, many of which do not overlap with the most commonly applied-to schools.

Use the Custom Data Columns of tags features to track STARS requirements yourself — no annual manual research required.
https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/custom-column

🎯 Why Custom Columns Are So Great

Custom Columns are one of CounselMore's most powerful tools—designed to give you total control over the way you collect, display, and act on data.

There are two types of Custom Columns, each with unique superpowers:

🏷️ How to Tag a School (Use This for STARS Tracking)

Tags are a fast, flexible way to flag which schools on your list require STARS — no custom column setup needed if you just want a quick visual flag you can filter on later.

Add a tag to a school from Search Results, any Counselor List, or any Student List — the steps are the same in each place:

1. While viewing a list of schools, scroll right. The Tags column appears near the end.
2. Double-click the cell you want to add a tag to.
3. A small popup appears where you can type the tag.
4. Type your tag (for example: "STARS Required") and hit Return/Enter to create and commit it.
5. Repeat as needed for each school.

Once schools are tagged, you can pull that exact list — or apply it to a new student — anytime:

1. Select the student, go to their Counselor List, click the menu button, then click Search.
2. Click the "My Database" tab.
3. Click "My Lists" on the left side.
4. Choose your tag (e.g., "STARS Required") and click "Show Results."
5. Select some or all schools shown. (The "Select All" checkbox only selects schools on the current page — if results span multiple pages, select each page separately.)

To delete a tag: Search → My Database → My Lists → find your tag → click the trash can icon.

 📣 How to Broadcast a Message to All Students Applying to the Same School

If you want to reach every student on your roster who's applying to a specific school — for example, to remind everyone applying to a STARS-required school that their self-reported record is due — use the Broadcast Station rather than messaging students one by one.

1. Click Settings in the top right corner of the app.
2. In the Settings menu, select Broadcast Station on the left side.
3. Fill in the recipient fields:
   — To: choose grad year categories, or select all grad years
   — School: filter by the students' high school, if relevant
   — Tags: filter by any tag you've applied to students (not the school-level tags above — this is a separate student tag)
   — Inclusion: send to students, parents, or both
   — Only Status: active, prospects, or all
   — College: select the specific college to target only students applying to that school
   — Omit students / Omit parents: exclude specific individuals if needed
   — Subject: write a clear, specific subject line
4. Compose your message in the text box (no word limit; formatting tools available).
5. Attach files or images if needed.
6. Click Send to deliver immediately, or use the Scheduled tab to save it for a future date (save at least 48 hours ahead of the intended send time for scheduled messages).

This is the fastest way to reach, for example, "everyone applying to Penn State" with a STARS reminder in one message instead of individual outreach.

💡 Why Use Custom Columns?

Because your counseling practice is unique. You shouldn't have to fit your data into a one-size-fits-all mold.

Whether you're building your own STARS tracker, capturing arts portfolio notes, or creating a private flagging system for likely/possible/reach schools—Custom Columns give you the freedom to track what matters most.

Need help? Join Study Hall or email support@counselmore.com. We'll walk you through it!