Academic Transcripts

[bakofoil 27]

For those of you who have moved to the US and hold foreign degrees, what experiences have you had with academic institutions and/or employers in relation to converting your qualifications to an US equivalent?

Is it standard practice for employers to require a foreign degree evaluation or are they happy with your existing degree certificates or transcripts?

If you have enrolled on an academic course with a US university, have they requested that you obtain a foreign degree evaluation or simply accepted your transcripts?

Did you need to provide original transcripts and if so, were these returned to you?

I'm particularly interested in people from the UK who have experience in this area but I also think it would be useful to hear from people with experience from other countries.

If you have had to obtain a foreign degree evaluation which company did you use and have you had any problems having the evaluation accepted by an employer or academic institution. There are a lot of evaluation companies out there and I am wondering whether all of them are accepted in all cases or whether particular companies are preferred.

Thanks a lot! Any help/advice/experience appreciated.

[Thai family 0]

Here's a recent thread on the subject. One of the services was used by very highly respected universities, but I don't remember which one. My DIL is planning to get her transcript evaluated, but she's not from the UK.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=139832

[bakofoil 27]

Oh thanks! That's very useful. I had run a search for 'academic transcripts' on the forum and not come across this thread.

I hope your DIL has success obtaining her evaluation. I specified UK because it's personal to me but I also wondered if there was a need to obtain an evaluation when no foreign language translation is required.

It would be useful for all of us to know specific requirements - so please post if you have any experiences to add, from any country.

[Meliss3108 0]

I work in the international admissions office of a major US University- and I can tell you that most large universities have the ability to evaluate a degree for bachelor's equivalence. However, please be prepared by knowing many will ask for original records, which in some countries, can be difficult to come by. If you have more specific questions, PM me and I'll try to assist.

[britbird 4]

depends on the university you are applying to - some require a particular evaluation company, others are more flexible.

I used WES (was required to) - wasn't so pleased with their service, but it got me where I needed to go.

Call the employers/schools you are interested in and ask them what they prefer.

[bakofoil 27]

Thanks for the replies!

Meliss3108, I will probably take you up on that offer.

[chnst 6]

whatever you do- don't use Globe language services (they're based in NYC) waste of time and money.

They gave me 30 undergraduate college credits for my high school diploma (since germans usually graduate after 13 years) but they didn't give me any credit for 3 years of college (I graduated as an RN). They evaluated that as "vocational high school" on top of my high school degree. And there is absolutely no way to negotiate with them. They also don't send out their evaluations in sealed envelopes, so no university over here accepted the transcripts.