Foreign degree (BA) useless in the U.S. when going for Masters?

[Matt_Stevens 5]

My bride-to-be lives in Vietnam and and got her BA there. She took part in some foreign student exchanges to Japan, but her degree was primarily obtained at a University in Vietnam.

Problem is, I understand that most American universities will scoff at degrees from Universities in foreign countries run by communist governments, which means if she wants to go for a Masters she will actually have to obtain a BA here, first, before even thinking of going for the Masters.

So, what are ways around this? My angel is a highly intelligent woman, speaks three languages fluently, is on her way to learning a fourth and at age 26 (27 by the time she gets here) will not want to start all over again.

What are the possibilities of her applying for Universities here in the U.S. and being accepted? If Yale will allow the former spokesman for the Taliban, who had lousy educational achievements, to be accepted into their University, it would sicken me were my fiance to be denied.

Thanks

[cmartyn 0]

I think you need to get one of these done.

http://www.aacrao.org/international/foreignEdCred.cfm

Im sure the admissions department can help you. As a mature student, they are somewhat lax because it is, after all, a big money maker for them.. Its not like shes going to be taking up dorm space and drinking beer out of a sock.

[Jasman0717 9]

I think you need to get one of these done.

http://www.aacrao.org/international/foreignEdCred.cfm

Im sure the admissions department can help you. As a mature student, they are somewhat lax because it is, after all, a big money maker for them.. Its not like shes going to be taking up dorm space and drinking beer out of a sock.

Ditto, good advice

[britbird 4]

yeah, them or www.wes.org.

Depends what her GPA is and what Masters degree she wants. It also depends how well she does in whichever standardised test she has to take to get in.

Also, not everyone gets into the Yales and Harvards of this work...there are hundreds of great Universities out there, so don't limit yourself.

[daisy16 0]

Your concerns are valid.

Here is my situation

1 undergraduate BA

2 B.Ed that MUST be granted AFTER the BA

Total credits 210

I get treated like garbage by staff at the universities because I have foreign (Canadian) credentials.

My opinion: The US education system workers, top to bottom, kindergarten to PH.D. has the mentality that education in the US is second to none and that EVERYONE else cannot even compare. The Canadian system that I went through is more advanced than what I've seen here. Media reports HERE have said that students in the US are behind other countries, as much as 2 years. I agree.

My advice: Keep this in mind when dealing with the educrats here. Get lots of references for the masters program. Get her credentials evaluated here, even before she gets here (I used WES) so that she knows what she's up against.

good luck! I found it very frustrating!

[britbird 4]

I'm afraid I dissagree with that assessment....I had little trouble at all conveying my foreign credentials to the graduate schools I was interested in, and have been offered spots at top 20 schools.

Of course different schools will give you different levels of service, just like anything else in the world. You just have to do your research and find out exactly what they want, what ballpark their GPA and test score requirements are and submit the documents that they require.

If you plan ahead and have your credentials properly evaluated, have good references and write well then you should be competative for the schools that you are interested in that also accept candidates with broadly the same scores as you. Of course, GPA and GRE/GMAT/LSAT etc aren't everything, but they certainly are good indicators and can be something that those of us who have a good deal of time on our hands (due to a lack of EAD for instance) can well prepare for.

[rebeccajo 14]

Here's how I feel about this....

In this country, a diploma from any school, for ANYBODY (US citizen or not) is simply a foot in the door for an interview these days. Nothing more. The competition for jobs is fierce and there are many candidates to choose from.

To me an 'educrat' can also be a person who is hung up on their credentials. If you try to hang too much weight on them, you are going to come off blustery and I don't think thats a quality most employers are looking for.

Getting her credentials evaluated will be a definite plus. She probably doesn't need any more education in America to be marketable if she can show she was educated in her home country. I really don't think the discrimination will be there....maybe I am naive.

But bottom line...she will have to start over. That's just the way it is in America. And it's not aimed at immigrants. It's the way it is when looking for work.

I personally think it's a plus that she took it upon herself to get an education in her own system. That shows #######. I believe THAT is a marketable commodity.

JMHO

Edited March 12, 2006 by rebeccajo

[chocolaterie 0]

I am fairly sure she will be fine. Just have ACCRAO do the evaluation and I bet most of her credits will transfer if not her entire degree. (Having 3/4 of her credits is better than none, right?).

And daisy I completely agree with you. I think it's a byproduct of being practically the only superpower.

[meddykomp 0]

Here is my experience .. and I am USC. I have an Associates Degree in computer programming. I decided to further my education. Every programming class I had was initially worthless at the University. They wanted me to repeat it all. I went in and talked to counselors, deans, and instructors. I didn't give up until they accepted most of my coursework and applied it to similar classes. My thoughts were why should I repeat the exact same work simply because they have a different title for the class. In the beginning it was hard. Everyone was so negative and I would get very frustrated. It wasn't until I started talking to the instructors that things started to look up. I was able to prove my knowledge to the people teaching the classes who can by the way override prereqs an coreqs. I then went to the dean and explained that the teachers believed in my ability to succeed in the classes I wanted to take, but if they did not agree I would take my money to another institution that would.

[Oulupair 0]

The Canadian system that I went through is more advanced than what I've seen here. Media reports HERE have said that students in the US are behind other countries, as much as 2 years. I agree.

Then why are there so many international students interested in studying in the US? It can't be simply for the multicultural experience, because there are many other countries to choose from. My brother once knew someone from Canada who crossed the border to Maine to attend university because the deal she got there was, in her own words, better and cheaper than what was available to her in Canada....

Sorry, but I disagree.....it's time for someone to give a little credit (no pun intended) to the American education system... I think it's one of those things that are used as a scapegoat for other problems.

[chocolaterie 0]

Oulupair, my cousin in law is going to a University in Chicago and all the Canadians she has met there tell her that they're going back to Canada because the quality of education is higher. Individual experiences depend on the individual. I can say from first hand experience being a Canadian that my high school education was harder than the education I'm receiving as a sophmore at ASU. Although we do have great educational institutions in the US (like our highly decorated ivy league schools) I think daisy16 is saying as a whole the educational system here needs some work. And I'm not going to lie, my husband and I decided I should come down here for school because there's more money in the US than there is in Canada. Heck, I think the US has more money than almost any other country. Here's an interesting article done by ABC news.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1500338

[Matt_Stevens 5]

US public schools are a wreck and have been for years and will only get worse. They need to be abolished and everything privatized with companies competing for contracts. If a school fails, the company loses the contract. This wouldwork, but anyone that dares propose it is labeled a nutjob and attacked so violently that they end up with four new @ssholes.

Our higher education is where we excell. Many universities here kick major @ss. This is why many want to get their BA or Masters or PHD here.

Thank you all for the good advice. I have talked to ANh and she is a little less worried.

[tcannon 0]

I would suggest your fiancee have her BA degree translated and notorized before she brings it over here. As a matter of fact, do the same thing for all the degrees that she has. It may be different from each states. Some requires residency of at least 6 months to be able to register, some dont. At where i live, with a BA degree, you still have to take some courses for them to test your qualification before letting you register for MBA.

[Sister Fracas 5]

US public schools are a wreck and have been for years and will only get worse.

Our higher education is where we excell. Many universities here kick major @ss. This is why many want to get their BA or Masters or PHD here.

I agree and apparently this ranking of the top 100 universities in the world agrees (oh, and no, this wasn't a ranking done by any U.S. agency or university )

Academic Ranking of World Universities 1-100

And as for credentials transfering, my husbands B.S. transferred fine using wes.org and he only had to take a few exams to get full certification for teaching.

[daviduk 0]

US public schools are a wreck and have been for years and will only get worse.

Our higher education is where we excell. Many universities here kick major @ss. This is why many want to get their BA or Masters or PHD here.

I agree and apparently this ranking of the top 100 universities in the world agrees (oh, and no, this wasn't a ranking done by any U.S. agency or university )

Academic Ranking of World Universities 1-100

And as for credentials transfering, my husbands B.S. transferred fine using wes.org and he only had to take a few exams to get full certification for teaching.

I would agree that the US education system at the higher levels is by far superior, i went to one of those top 100 for my BSc in Comp Sci and thoroughly enjoyed my time there

For the original poster, I would firstly find out which which credential services the university/universities you plan on applying accept

Edited March 13, 2006 by daviduk