International Grade Recognition

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hey guys..I have a question about my school's grades.</p>

<p>My school actually follows the A-E grading scale...but we have different measures of these grades.</p>

<p>E.g:
A might mean high standard of work in America, but over in my school..an A means excellent, B mean "high", while C means Above Average; and D meands satisfactory and E means Elementary.</p>

<p>So due to this..NO ONE gets straight As. it's basically impossible. E.g if you give an exam, and get 97%.. the 3% you lost will go towards your final grades of your course outcomes...</p>

<p>So do colleges take this unique and rough grading scale in mind when calculating GPAs? Should I send a note saying such information?</p>

2

<p>Hi, has your school ever had an agency to convert your grades into American standards?</p>

<p>My school did, and the conversation table was sent with my transcripts.</p>

<p>A at my school = A+/A in the US
B = A/A-</p>

<p>etc. I can't remember exactly how it went, but I remember an E at my school was a C-/D+ elsewhere.</p>

3

<p>May I ask how and when this agency operates?</p>

4

<p>WES is one of the agencies that evaluates transcripts. They publish their standards for converting grades online: WES</a> Grade Conversion Guide</p>

<p>Colleges ask you to submit your grades as given (don't try to convert anything yourself) and they will take different grading standards into account. But that is not an easy task since grading practices do not only vary by country but also by school within a given country. An estimated class rank, if your school can provide one, will be a lot more important than a GPA on an arbitrary scale. Colleges will also appreciate a 'school profile'. Information on the distribution of grades in a typical class or overall GPAs (average GPA is a C-, the top 2 out of 200 students achieved a GPA of A-, whatever) and the selectivity of the school (e.g. typically the top 1/4 of the general population finish high school to earn a university entrance certificate) would help colleges evaluate your accomplishments in the correct reference frame.</p>

5

<p>Hi. My school used WES, and another agency (don't know which one, it's not indicated on my transcript) to convert the grades to Australian and Euro standard.</p>

6

<p>My school is a large public school, so I doubt they'd spend money on an agency. I might have to instead. </p>

<p>Would it be okay if I sent them my school's marking criteria and key for As, Bs etc. with my application?</p>

7

<p>There's really no point to ask WES for an evaluation unless the colleges you are applying to explicitly ask for it.</p>

<p>And yes, you may send your school's marking criteria along with your application. Actually, you almost have to. That information is typically part of a 'school profile' which is sent along with the secondary school report, and the international supplement to the school report also explicitly asks for information on your grading scale.</p>