There is a fair amount of preparation required to continue your education in the United States. One of the most important elements involves an evaluation of your past academic records, so that you are placed in a U.S. classroom environment that is suitable to your educational level. The process is critical because it effects the probability of your academic success in the USA: If you are placed at a low level for your particular abilities, then you may become bored and restless. If you are placed too far above your academic level, you may feel overwhelmed by the extreme challenge.

Because grading scales are very different in various regions of the world, international educators continue to seek ways to evaluate academic performance with a standard, universal method. One increasingly popular method involves categorizing the student in relation to how well he or she performs compared to his or her peers. Students with the best grades rank in the highest tenth of their class, while their peers with the lowest grades rank in the fifth fifth. Average students fall into the categories of second fifth and third fifth.

After this initial filtering mechanism, you will likely be asked to provide transcripts or records of your recent academic performance. The level of difficulty in your academic environment is often considered in this evaluation.

To evaluate your past educational credentials, your non-U.S. records are compared to U.S. standards. Professional academic credential evaluators or admissions counselors review several categories of your prior education, including educational levels, program lengths and objectives, type of institution, courses completed, exams passed, degrees awarded, and other criteria.

The evaluators measure these official, documented facts to identify comparable credentials in the U.S. education system. For educational purposes, a course-by-course evaluation is generally required. This type of evaluation lists each subject you've completed, your equivalent U.S. semester / credit hours, and a calculated grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale.

In general, the following chart applies to Academic Performance based on a Scale of 100 Percent, Grade Point Averages on a 4.0 Scale, and Letter Grades.

For more information, please contact U.S.-based admissions counselors directly by completing our simple student selection form. We wish you all the best in your pursuit of a U.S. education!