Transcripts
What is a transcript?
A transcript is an official summary of all the courses you took at an institution of higher education and the grades you obtained for them. The institution where the courses were taken must authenticate the document by affixing an original stamp and signature. Using this document, universities in America assess whether your academic background qualifies you for the study for which you have applied.
Tips for preparing a transcript
Check whether the institution you are studying or graduated from provides transcript in English. If it does not, you will have to translate your Dutch transcript into English. In many cases you can do this yourself — it is often not necessary to have this done by a sworn translation agency. However, the translation must be authenticated by the institution from which you are studying or graduated and, in addition, you must always enclose the original Dutch transcripts of your grades.
Apply the Dutch credit system and include an explanation of the Dutch grading system. A useful source for this is the publication Education System of the Netherlands, available from Nuffic. Nuffic also provides a good English description of the Dutch grading system in comparison to that of the US and UK. See also the note below for an explanation of the grading system of American universities.
An example of an American transcript can be downloaded here.
The grading system of American universities
It is not possible to directly transpose the US assessment system to the Dutch system. In the US, there are no generally applicable or binding criteria that grading systems must meet. The value of grades may vary from one institution to another. An “A” obtained at a top university has a different value than an “A” obtained at a less highly regarded institution. It is also not easy to convert Dutch grades into American grades, so you should always submit your official Dutch grades, after which they will be converted by the American university using the diploma rating document of your Dutch university. If the university does not do this itself, you may have to have your transcripts translated by a credential evaluation service.
Some examples of credential evaluation agencies are:
World Education Services (WES)
Credits
In the United States, the course load and length of study of courses are indicated by semester credits, quarter credits, semester hours, quarter hours, semester units or quarter units. In order to earn a degree, you must obtain sufficient credits, units, or hours. Exactly how many of these units must be obtained varies by institution. University study guides list the number of credits given for each course.
Usually, one credit equals one contact hour. If a course earns three credits, this means that you will have three hours of lecture during the semester, trimester or quarter. In addition, there is preparation time for each lecture. During the undergraduate phase, this is usually two hours for each hour of lecture. In the graduate phase, the ratio is higher.
If practicum is part of a course, a different calculation applies: two to three hours of practicum equals one credit.
At institutions that work with semester credits, usually you must earn 60 credits for an Associate’s degree, 120 credits for a Bachelor’s degree, between 30 and 60 credits for a Master’s degree and between 60 and 180 credits for a Ph.D. degree.
Grades
The US does not use a grading scale from 1 to 10, but rather the letters A, B, C, D, and F. The following chart shows what is generally meant by these letters. The percentages may vary somewhat from institution to institution.
Grade Term % Correct answers
A Excellent 91% or more
B Good 82% to 90%
C Fair/Average 75% to 81%
D Poor 69% to 74%
F Failing 68% or less
In practice, this usually amounts to the teacher giving an “A” to two to three students who scored best on an exam, even if they got no more than 70% of the answers right. This is because, in this case, the teacher assumes that the exam was not good and that the grading should be adjusted.
The final assessment of a subject does not depend only on the grade obtained in the final test. You will also be graded on class participation, essays, homework, and attendance.
GPA
The letters A, B, C, and D are eventually converted into numbers so that it is possible to calculate the overall average: the grade point average.
A – 4 points
B – 3 points
C – 2 points
D – 1 point
F has no value (0 points).
If you received an A for a three-credit course, you will receive a total of twelve points (grade-points) for it. Per semester, trimester, or quarter, you add up all grade points and divide them by the total number of credits to calculate the grade point average.
After the second and subsequent semesters, you have a so-called cumulative grade point average: that is, the total of all credits from all semesters divided by the total number of credits earned.
To continue your studies as an undergraduate student, you must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher at most institutions. If your average drops below a 2.0, you will be given a warning and allowed to continue your studies only with reservations (you will be placed on probation). If you average all “A”s and “B”s, you earn so-called honors and may receive an award.
To continue your studies as a graduate student, you must have at least a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. While a “C” during undergraduate studies is still considered average and is a passing grade, during graduate studies it means that you have failed the course in question. If you have earned a “C” in two or three consecutive semesters and your cumulative grad -point average is around a 2.0, you will be advised that you had better stop your studies.