During my years as an Admissions Dean, I recruited and enrolled thousands of international students.   In working with these students, three questions repeatedly came up during the application process:

1. How do I know if my undergraduate degree in my home country is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree?
2. How do I convert my GPA so it will match a 4.0 scale in the U.S.?
3. How should I approach taking the required standardized test required for the graduate program to which I am applying?

Here are my comments regarding each of there very important questions.

1.  Determining Academic Equivalency

If you received your bachelor’s degree outside the United States, an evaluation will be performed by the admissions office to confirm that you have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree.  In some cases you are asked to make application before an evaluation of your educational credentials is conducted. In other cases an evaluation is required before you apply.  

Clear guidelines about what constitutes academic equivalency are provided in the application section of the admissions website.  Excessive arguing about an equivalency determination you believe is unfair or does not take into account your particular situation will only make matters worse. Someone who argues with and continues to badger the admissions director to make an exception ends up drawing negative attention to himself/herself. If you believe you have an extenuating circumstance that merits special consideration, definitely let the admissions office know.  Make sure to do the following:

1. Put it in writing.  Make the inquiry as short as you can, but be sure to cover all the facts. At the beginning and end of your comments thank the admissions office for taking time to consider your situation.
2. Be willing to cooperate.  Offer to provide any additional information, and make it clear that you will abide by their decision.

For example, if the institution to which you are applying requires four years of college work following high school, and you have a three-year degree, but took additional coursework, conducted additional research, and received high academic honors, you might consider asking for your situation to be given special consideration.

2.  Conversion of Your GPA to US standards

Each admissions office has a procedure for “converting” an academic record from an international college/university into the equivalent GPA at the graduate school to which applications are being submitted. The procedure for doing this is set, and based on my experience, is never altered or changed, period. No exceptions are made. Be sure to do the following to insure that your GPA will be accurately converted:

1. Send transcripts for all undergraduate work with your application.  In other words, if you took coursework at two other institutions before enrolling at the institution from which you received your bachelor’s degree, you should submit three transcripts in total. 
2. Do not provide your own GPA calculation.  Rest assured that admissions directors/committees are as diligent about this part of the application process as they are all other parts. At the start of each academic term, the admissions director is usually asked to provide demographic and academic information for the incoming class. In order to provide accurate information, s/he will be very careful about the conversion of international GPAs.

3.  Standardized Tests

In addition to demonstrating one’s ability to communicate well in English, all applicants, including international students, will have to submit standardized test scores.  Depending on the program to which you are applying, you will take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).   Here are two important two tips when it comes to taking these tests:

1. Do not take the test more than three times.   Taking the test twice or three times indicates that you are making every effort to provide the best application you can.  Taking it more than three times looks desperate, and that does not help.  If the admissions committee is genuinely looking for the best students, they will evaluate your application in its entirety, not placing undue emphasis on your test scores.  During my years at Chicago Booth, Northwestern and Columbia, the range of test scores for those applicants I admitted was quite large.  That is because I found that test scores alone do not predict success as a graduate school student.  Communication skills, motivation, initiative, hard work and working well with others, along with academic ability are, in my experience, much better predictors of success.
2. Take several sample tests before sitting for the real exam.  This is extremely helpful.  When preparing to take the GRE several years ago, I took a prep course that was completed at home.  For ten weeks I took sample tests, and evaluated my performance, paying particular attention to the questions I had answered incorrectly.  By the time I took my official GRE, I was relaxed, felt prepared, and my score was quite good. 

Be sure to check out Dr. Don’s book, “Road Map for Graduate Study, A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students,” right here on the GSRM website. For a reduced price CLICK HERE, scroll down and click on the Order Now box, and use discount code GSRM.