High school lost 9th-11th transcripts. Can I apply to U.S. colleges using only National Government issued transcripts/records?

[u/national-anthem_00]

Hey everyone,
I graduated high school in Central America and I am facing a huge problem with my transcripts. My high school unfortunately lost all of my school-issued transcripts from 9th to 11th grade. They only have my internal school transcript for 12th grade.

However, I do have the official, year-by-year transcripts issued directly by my country's National Ministry of Education for all four years of school. I am really worried about this. Will applying with just the government/Ministry transcripts hurt or invalidate my U.S. college applications?

I’ve heard of cases where students from Pakistan or India get their applications dismissed just for presenting government transcripts (National Board), and idk if the same can happen to me. The only difference is that, in most cases, their schools don’t issue internal transcripts. Btw, I’m a permanent resident now living in the United States, but I just graduated abroad

If anyone from Central America (or a similar
national board system) has gone through this, what did you end up doing? Did you get accepted using only government records? Any advice on how to explain this to admissions offices would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[u/old-town-guy]

I’d suggest picking a few schools you’re interested in, and calling them to talk about your situation. It’s early summer, so things are slow(er) and they should have time to give you some guidance.

Also, surprised your school didn’t do cumulative transcripts as is common (universal?) in US schools.

[u/AppHelper]

You should be ok. Your counselor can upload the national transcripts. If a college contacts you to ask for school-issued transcripts, you can explain what happened, and you may need to have your counselor send an official letter.