Students with foreign degrees interested in higher education need evaluations to determine the U.S. equivalency of course work and grades. Colleges require these evaluations to transfer credits and establish a grade point average. (EMAILWIRE.COM, June 11, 2009 ) June 11, 2009, Washington DC If you earned your Bachelor Degree outside the U.S., you will almost certainly need a foreign credential evaluation of your degree if you want to attend graduate school in the United States. This academic credential evaluation will help to demonstrate that your education qualifies you to enter a U.S. Master’s Degree program. Students who are planning to use their foreign credential evaluations for educational purposes almost always need a course by course evaluation. In most instances, the college or university will want to examine the course work to assure that the student has had the necessary undergraduate classes to succeed in a graduate degree program. The course by course evaluation will also show the number of credit hours to which each course is equal. This can be a very important factor in establishing that a student does indeed have a major in the required academic field. A typical U.S. Bachelor’s Degree has an average of 120 credits, so academic degrees with fewer credits than this are usually not recognized as equivalent. The evaluator completing a course by course evaluation also assigns a U.S. grade to each graded course. This can sometimes be a complex process, because different countries have different grading systems. Certain countries, including Brazil, Canada, and the nations which formerly comprised the U.S.S.R., may even use more than one grading scale. Therefore, if you are planning to order a course by course evaluation, it is sometimes handy to include a grading scale from your university. This is especially true if your school’s grading school differs from the standard national scale. Evaluators also calculate an overall grade point average for the student’s degree. A grade point average may not seem very relevant to students who completed their education outside the U.S. Those students who are familiar with U.S. grade point averages, however, are aware that most colleges and universities require a certain grade point average in order to be accepted into an educational program or earn one’s degree. If you have special requirements for a course by course evaluation, notify the evaluator with your request before you order the evaluation. He or she may or may not be able to accommodate your needs, and it’s better to find out before you order. Most of the time, Sheila Danzig the Executive Director at Career Consulting International will make every effort to help you if she can. If you need a specialized foreign credential evaluation, visitwww.thedegreepeople.com, and discuss your needs with their team of experts.]]>
