Using foreign credentials in US

[K and R 0]

Hey VJers,

My husband and I are considering returning to his country (Argentina) to continue our studies. They have great universities there and the education is free (or nearly free).

Our only concern is being able to use the degrees we earn there to find work in the US when we return.

Anyone have experiences with this either in Speech-Language Pathology or Teaching? or any other fields? I would love to hear others experiences.

Thanks,

Kelah

[Rac2012 0]

Hi Kelah,

I am actually from Argentina as well.. I studied business administration in the UADE (great business school), but unfortunately, when I tried to get transferable credits in order to get a masters, I was a little bit disappointed. Having a 7 or an 8 in Argentina, is an amazing grade. However, in the U.S that's a C+, or a B-.. Not enough to get into a good school, and even less if you were thinking of getting a scholarship.

That's why, I decided to start all over again here, I started in a community college, and I have just applied to UCLA and USC.. Hopefully, due to my GPA, I can get a scholarship or at least, half of it.. In the future, I believe, that having 2 degrees (one from here, and a different one from Argentina) is going to be worth it.

If your husband had gone to school in Argentina, tell him that a community college in the US is a great idea.. it is cheap, and it is going to be extremely easy for him. At the same time, he might be able to get a scholarship once he transfers.

Hope my experience helps you,

Best..

Ismael.

[K and R 0]

Ismael,

Thanks for the reply. I wondered about the grades issue. When my husband told me that a 7 was a good grade in Argentina I was surprised, given that I am used to the grading system here.

Did you use a foreign credential evaluation service to have your credits "translated" and transferred, or did you just submit your transcripts?

Thanks,

Kelah

[Rac2012 0]

I called a few place, but I actually went to a place in Buenos Aires, were they can officially translate your credits into the U.S system. However, as I mentioned before, and as you wrote, it didn't really make sense to do it. They gave me a few examples, and my average would have been a C+, B-.. Which wasn't enough at all here..

But if your husband is still thinking about going to school here, if he does good enough, getting a scholarship when he transfers is not impossible.. And I am sure he will find school here much easier than in Argentina. I am not only talking about my own experience, have many Argentinians friends here who had felt the same way

[K and R 0]

okay, thanks for the info!

[ONA 133]

Hi Kelah!

I graduated from a university in Russia a year ago.

My credentials were evaluated by ECE and my degree transferred as a Bachelor's in Secondary Education with a teaching major in Language Instruction and a Master of Arts in English Linguistics.

I work as an ESL teacher at a language center in Washington DC. English is not my native language, but I was hired because of my degree and experience (I used to teach English in Russia).

[K and R 0]

Thank you, ONA, for the reply.It really helps to hear about others' experiences, especially regarding teaching in the US.

[Ellesse 11]

Hey VJers,

My husband and I are considering returning to his country (Argentina) to continue our studies. They have great universities there and the education is free (or nearly free).

Our only concern is being able to use the degrees we earn there to find work in the US when we return.

Anyone have experiences with this either in Speech-Language Pathology or Teaching? or any other fields? I would love to hear others experiences.

Thanks,

Kelah

Hi Kelah

I am a speech pathologist and trained in the UK. As the UK and the US have a Mutual Recognition Agreement for their training programmes, my UK Speech-Language Pathology credentials were recognised by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). I had to get the UK equivalent of ASHA to write a letter of goodstanding and send this to ASHA, and I had to sit the SLP Praxis exam. Once I'd passed that, I was able to get ASHA membership and get licensing with the Ohio Board. If Argentina doesn't have a mutual recognition agreement (which you'd have to look into), then you'd need to get your credentials recognised by ASHA. Have a look at this to find out more:

http://www.asha.org/certification/CredEval/

Good luck!

L

[amir2011 0]

Hi Kelah!

I graduated from a university in Russia a year ago.

My credentials were evaluated by ECE and my degree transferred as a Bachelor's in Secondary Education with a teaching major in Language Instruction and a Master of Arts in English Linguistics.

I work as an ESL teacher at a language center in Washington DC. English is not my native language, but I was hired because of my degree and experience (I used to teach English in Russia).

hi kelah

I m graduated too from the university ,I got my bachelor degree in English studies (linguistic,literature).

Now I m living in AMERICA (florida state) through lottery program me,I m working in retailing service as my first job in USA.

I have a question about How can I use my credentials for start teaching in community college.

[Messybrownhair 251]

Hi, I did my undergrad in Speech Pathology in the Philippines.. I'm currently a 2nd year graduate student here in PA getting my masters degree in Speech Pathology. I will graduate May 2013. I'd be happy to share my experience on the application process with you.

[Car0 3]

Hey, I'm from Argentina as well. I did my undergrad in UBA. I was able to get a job in the US even before I graduated (they sponsored my visa). After a few years I returned to Buenos Aires. And after that, I came to the US again to do an MBA, which I finished last month. I was admitted and I even got a scholarship. It's totally doable.

Tha credentials of the university you choose in Argentina is important, though...

Regarding the grading system, it's true that it is different, just present a note explaining the system and that will help you.

Good luck to you!

[Póg mo 1,749]

Hi Kelah,

I am actually from Argentina as well.. I studied business administration in the UADE (great business school), but unfortunately, when I tried to get transferable credits in order to get a masters, I was a little bit disappointed. Having a 7 or an 8 in Argentina, is an amazing grade. However, in the U.S that's a C+, or a B-.. Not enough to get into a good school, and even less if you were thinking of getting a scholarship.

Who did you use to evaluate your qualifications? You can't take a percentage grade and simply convert it into a US equivalent without taking into account the different grading methodologies of each country. Organizations like World Education Services (wes.org) for example can be used to professionally convert qualifications from countries outside of the US.

[K and R 0]

Hi Kelah

I am a speech pathologist and trained in the UK. As the UK and the US have a Mutual Recognition Agreement for their training programmes, my UK Speech-Language Pathology credentials were recognised by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). I had to get the UK equivalent of ASHA to write a letter of goodstanding and send this to ASHA, and I had to sit the SLP Praxis exam. Once I'd passed that, I was able to get ASHA membership and get licensing with the Ohio Board. If Argentina doesn't have a mutual recognition agreement (which you'd have to look into), then you'd need to get your credentials recognised by ASHA. Have a look at this to find out more:

http://www.asha.org/certification/CredEval/

Good luck!

L

Thank you so much. I appreciate the info!

[K and R 0]

Hey, I'm from Argentina as well. I did my undergrad in UBA. I was able to get a job in the US even before I graduated (they sponsored my visa). After a few years I returned to Buenos Aires. And after that, I came to the US again to do an MBA, which I finished last month. I was admitted and I even got a scholarship. It's totally doable.

Tha credentials of the university you choose in Argentina is important, though...

Regarding the grading system, it's true that it is different, just present a note explaining the system and that will help you.

Good luck to you!

You say the credentials of the university I choose in Argentina is important. How do I evaluate that? Do you know if there is some organization in Argentina that accredits universities (like they do here in the US)?

Any help you can offer in this regard would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[K and R 0]

Hi, I did my undergrad in Speech Pathology in the Philippines.. I'm currently a 2nd year graduate student here in PA getting my masters degree in Speech Pathology. I will graduate May 2013. I'd be happy to share my experience on the application process with you.

I would love to know more about your experience. Were your studies in the Philippines considered undergrad there? Or were you certified there and then had to re-do your studies here? Its hard to know if the education you receive abroad will be accepted here at the same level.