Transcripts

Your grade point average is part of university admission requirements, so universities ask for your grade transcripts from your high school. Since you come from a different school system, the university also likes to receive further context about your education and grade level. This information is provided by an official credential evaluation agency. You often process this information in a school profile. This document, along with your original grade lists, is sent to the university by your school.

Common Application

For many application systems, have a staff member from your school upload the grade transcripts along with the school profile. Invite your mentor or dean to upload the transcript and original reports for you in the university’s central application system (Common Application or other application system). You can invite them to create a profile through your own Common Application account. The school counselor will then upload your school profile and transcripts directly into the Common Application. For more information, please refer them to the instructions below:

Common Application instructions for Counselors and Recommenders

Coalition Application instructions for Counselors and Recommenders

Unable to upload all documents in the application system? If so, transcripts can always be mailed to the university’s admissions office. A university expects these documents to be submitted by your school; you are not supposed to send these documents yourself.

Tip

Putting together the school profile and translating your transcripts takes time. Be sure to involve your dean and teachers in your study plans in time, and well in advance of the deadlines of the American universities. It is your responsibility to ensure that your school is aware of the deadlines and submits the necessary documents for you in a timely manner.

Transcripts

Most universities require a transcript of your final grades from at least the last three completed high school years (e.g., VWO 3, 4 and 5). Ask your school for original copies stamped and signed on each page. The school may list the names of the subjects in English. The transcripts always mention the Dutch grades according to the Dutch grading system. You are not allowed to convert the grade point average to the American letter system yourself or to calculate a GPA yourself, and this is also not your school’s job. Comparing foreign school systems is specialized work. The American university itself has conversion tables for foreign grade systems, or can refer you to a Credential Evaluation Bureau, for example WES or ECE, for an official report.

If you spent part of your schooling at another high school, ask your old school for a transcript as well.

Want to know what such a transcript looks like? You can use the sample transcript below for translation.

Sample transcript

School profile

American universities also ask for background information about your school. Unlike in the Netherlands, American universities look at your activities in the context of your environment and school. This means that they look not only at the things you did, but also at how your performance differs from your classmates. For example, American high schools use rankings to indicate how your grades compare to those of your peers. In the Netherlands, schools usually don’t do that, but an American university wants to see that kind of information. American universities also like to get an idea of the opportunities your environment did or did not offer. Were you at a school where there was little time or space for extracurricular activities, for example, because many students had travel time? If so, they would like to know. Your school profile can offer more information about this.

Your school can download and adapt this sample document. It is important to always supplement the document with the information that applies to your school.

Nuffic also offers good English-language information on Dutch education, including an extensive description of the Dutch education system and an explanation of the Dutch grading system.