International Transcript Evaluation: 8 Key Factors to Know

12/11/2023

An international transcript evaluator and a customer

In 2024, do you have a foreign educational background and try to seek employment, immigration, education, and military opportunities in the USA?

If so, understanding the key factors of international transcript evaluation is essential to unlocking your American Dream.

Founded by an immigrant just like you, AET understands your struggle and is here to help you navigate the complexities of getting an international transcript evaluation done.

In this comprehensive article, we will walk you through 8 key things you need to know about international transcript evaluation. From explaining what a transcript evaluation is to ensuring your Educational Equivalency Evaluation in the USA, we've got you covered.

Keep on reading as we pave the way for your future success!

Table of Contents:

What is a transcript?
What is international transcript evaluation?
What questions does a transcript evaluation answer?
What does an international transcript evaluation include?
What is an international transcript evaluation used for?
How to evaluate your international transcripts?
How much does an international transcript evaluation cost?
How long does transcript evaluation take?

1. What is a transcript?

A transcript is commonly referred as an Academic Transcript in the USA.

This is an official record of a student's academic performance and progress at a school, college, or university. It includes courses taken, grades received, academic status, and honors received. Academic transcripts are often used when applying for jobs, graduate schools, or for various licensure purposes.

Depending on where you come from, you may call Academic Transcripts something else, such as a mark sheets, statement of marks, statement of results, record of learning or record of achievement.

2. What is international transcript evaluation?

An international transcript evaluation is a process used by employers, immigration office, or educational institutions to analyze an individual's academic record to determine the U.S. equivalency of their foreign credentials, credits, grades, and GPAs. It's recommended for College Admission, Licensing, USCIS RFE, and more.

The evaluation process typically involves verifying the authenticity of the transcripts, translating the document (if necessary), and analyzing the grades, coursework, degree obtained, and the accreditation status of the issuing institution to determine the equivalent level of education within the U.S. educational system. This can be a complex process due to differences in educational systems around the world.

3. What questions does an international transcript evaluation answer?

An international transcript evaluation seeks to answer several key questions that allow your employers, academic institutions, or immigration officers to understand and recognize the academic achievements of your international credentials. Here are some of the main questions a transcript evaluation can answer:

Accreditation: Is the institution that issued the transcript recognized and accredited by the educational authorities in its home country? How is the institution regarded in its home country and internationally?
Degree Equivalency: What is the U.S. (or other local) equivalent of the degree or credential earned? For example, if someone earned a "Licenciatura" in Mexico, a transcript evaluation would determine the U.S. equivalent (which is often a bachelor's degree).
Coursework Analysis: What were the courses completed during the program of study, and what are their U.S. (or other local) equivalents? This is particularly important for students seeking to transfer credit from an institution in one country to another.
Grade Conversion: What do the grades earned translate to in the U.S. (or other local) grading system? Educational systems around the world use different grading scales, so the evaluation seeks to provide an equivalent grade or GPA.
Credit Conversion: How do the credits earned translate into U.S. (or other local) semester credit hours? Different countries use different measures for academic credit, such as ECTS in Europe.
Program Duration: How long is the program of study in comparison to similar programs in the U.S. (or other local systems)? For example, some bachelor's degree programs outside of the U.S. may last three years rather than four.
Educational Level: What level of education does the transcript reflect (e.g., high school, undergraduate, graduate)?

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4. What does an international transcript evaluation include?

In general, what an international transcript evaluation includes is set to answer all the questions we just covered. With that said, an international transcript evaluation report includes:

An equivalent for each degree, diploma or transcript submitted for evaluation
Dates of attendance and location of the institution
Profile of the institution and programs (entrance criteria, status of the institution, typical and length of study)
Recommends the U.S. equivalent of each level of study and credential earned
Converted credit hours, grades, and your GPA summary in U.S. standards
Evaluators’ resume and references used for the evaluation

Learn more about a Sample of International Transcript Evaluation.

5. What is an international transcript evaluation used for?

A transcript evaluation is used for several purposes, mainly related to understanding and recognizing the academic achievements of an individual, often from a foreign educational system. Here are some common uses:

Employment: In some cases, employers may require you to submit a transcript evaluation to verify the authenticity and academic qualifications of individuals who obtained their degrees in another country. This process helps ensure that candidates like you possess the necessary educational background and meet the required standards.
Immigration and Visa Applications: USCIS may require you to provide a transcript evaluation as part of the application process. This helps immigration authorities understand the educational qualifications of the applicant and assess your eligibility for certain visa categories.
Military Recruitment: Whether you’re planning to join the Airforce, Navy, or the Army, they may ask you to showcase the U.S. equivalency of your foreign credentials to meet their minimum educational requirement.
Educational Admissions: One of the primary reasons for international transcript evaluation is to determine the educational equivalency of your foreign qualifications for admission to educational institutions in the USA, so that you can be enrolled in school later.

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6. How to evaluate your international transcripts?

Typically, a trusted credential evaluation agency will evaluate your international transcripts. This organization specializes in understanding educational systems from around the world and can accurately translate coursework and degrees into their U.S. equivalents, or other country-specific equivalents.

You can request an international transcript evaluation from one of the following credential evaluation agencies:

They can all meet your needs for employment, immigration, and education.

If you live in Florida, California, Texas or Illinois, we also listed the following educational evaluators for you:

Overall, there are many credential evaluation agencies that can perform your international transcript evaluation. However, it’s essential to ensure that the chosen evaluation service meets your needs for immigration, employment, military, education and more. The requester may also have specific requirements, such as needing a course-by-course evaluation or a general document-by-document evaluation.

7. How much does an international transcript evaluation cost?

Anywhere between $160 and $365.

The cost of a transcript evaluation can vary significantly depending on the specific services needed and the organization providing the evaluation. However, the pricing ranges from anywhere between $160 and $365.

If additional services are required, such as rush delivery, certified copies, or additional copies of the report, these can incur extra fees. Furthermore, if the documents need to be translated into English or another language, professional translation services would also have an additional cost.

For more information about prices, visit “Cheap Credential Evaluation Services in USA”.

8. How long does it take to receive a transcript evaluation?

Around 2 to 4 weeks.

The amount of time it takes to receive a transcript evaluation can vary widely depending on several factors including the complexity of the evaluation, the responsiveness of the issuing institution (particularly for verification purposes), and the current workload of the evaluation service.

On average, once all the necessary documents are received, it typically takes between 2-4 weeks for an international transcript evaluation to be completed.

However, many credential evaluation services offer expedited options for an additional fee, which can shorten the turnaround time to a few days to a week. It's also important to note that the process can be delayed if there are issues with the documents provided, if additional information is required, or if it takes time to verify the documents with the issuing institution.

Therefore, it's always a good idea to start the process well in advance of when the evaluation is needed, and to keep in regular contact with the evaluation service to ensure the process is moving along as expected.

Conclusion

Today, we covered 8 key things you should know about international transcript evaluation so that you’ll know what to do while applying for jobs, immigration status, military and schools.

In a nutshell, an international transcript evaluation is a type of service that a credential evaluation agency provides to include information about your educational background including grades and their U.S. equivalency.

To evaluate your international transcript, select a reputable credential evaluation agency, carefully reviewing their requirements, and providing all necessary documentation, you can ensure that your evaluation is completed accurately and efficiently. With the right preparation and approach, you can successfully navigate the process and take advantage of the many opportunities available to fulfill your American Dream.

That’s why we, American Education and Translation Services, care; that’s why we wrote this article to help you. We guarantee:

Experienced credential evaluators. Our Evaluation Director has had over a decade experience and was a Senior Associate Director at a well-known NACES agency.
Reply your email in 30 mins. To save your valuable time, we respond you rapidly via email.
Easy to be reached out. You can always contact us via phone, email, WhatsApp and more.
Customer service that puts you in the first place. We understand your pain of being ignored if you go to bigger agencies.
Reasonable pricing and quality service.

Contact us today for a Free Estimate and to evaluate your international transcript in the USA!

More about Credential Evaluation

History of American Education and Translation Services

Established in 2009.
Has been a corporate member of the American Translators Association (ATA) since 2009
Selected as one of the most popular businesses on Yelp in 2016.
Founder Mr. Jeremy Yan, a veteran certified translator / credential evaluator since 1997 in Miami.
Founder Mr. Jeremy Yan, became an NAFSA member in 2023.
AET has become an Approved Credential Evaluation Source by Illinois State Board of Education since 2023.

References

https://ucredo.com/transcript-evaluation/#:~:text=What%20does%20a%20transcript%20evaluation,who%20is%20doing%20the%20evaluation.
https://www.scholaro.com/about/transcript-evaluation/
https://www.graduateshotline.com/gpa/transcripts-evaluation.html
https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/application-process/credential-evaluators/index/