How to Report CBSE Marks on the Common App

How to Report CBSE Marks on the Common App

Enter your CBSE or ISC marks exactly as your marksheets show them, on your school's own scale. Report Classes 9, 10 and 11 where a college asks, plus your current Class 12 subjects. If your school does not calculate a GPA, Common App says to select "none" and leave the GPA question blank.

If you are wondering how to turn 92.4% into a 4.0 GPA, the answer is that you don't. A home-made conversion is the one number on your file that a reader can check against your school's documents and prove wrong. This page shows which classes each college asks for, who enters them, and what to put in each Common App field. If a weak term needs a sentence of context, the Additional Information rubric reads that note.

Every Common App and college page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026, for Fall 2027 entry. We read Common App's published help articles. We did not open a live application account, so check each field on your own screen.

The short answer

• Type marks as printed. Percentages stay percentages. Grades stay grades.
• Class 11 counts. It is your most recent full year when you apply. Illinois, Northeastern, Purdue and Georgia Tech all ask for it.
• Class 10 board results count. Georgia Tech, Purdue and Northeastern each ask for the Class 10 results or certificate.
• Class 12 is a prediction until your board results arrive. Predicted grades for US colleges from Indian boards covers who writes it and how it reaches colleges.
• Your school explains the scale, not you. The school profile carries the grading system.

Which classes you report, and who sends them

Indian applicants often mix up two jobs. You type your courses and marks into the application. Your school sends the official marksheets and forms. Some colleges want both, some want only one at the application stage.

The Courses & Grades row comes from Common App's list of colleges that require the section (Common App, Courses & Grades). Common App says: "If your college is not on this list, you do not need to complete the Courses & Grades section."

Our view: treat Class 11 as the year your file is read on. A Class 10 board percentage is two years old by the time you apply. Your Class 11 internal marks are the most recent full year a reader sees, and Illinois, Northeastern, Purdue and Georgia Tech each ask for them.

The countercase: if your Class 11 marks are much lower than your Class 10 board result, the Class 10 certificate still helps. It is an external exam: Northeastern asks your school to send it, and Purdue asks you to submit a copy. Do not hide it. Explain the drop (see below).

Filling the Education section field by field

Common App's first-year guide says: "In the Education section, you will enter your high school grades and current courses. Some colleges also need you to self-report your high school transcript."

Common App's help article on class rank and GPA gives the path and the rules:

Two lines in that help article matter for Indian applicants. First: "If you leave the cumulative GPA question blank, you can still submit your application, and colleges can use your transcripts and other responses to learn more about your education history." Second: "Common App uses your GPA to see if you're eligible for scholarships and direct admissions offers. If you don't report a GPA, you may not receive these offers."

That second line is not a reason to invent a GPA. It only means you may not see those Common App offers. Colleges still read your marks.

Why you should not convert to a GPA

Illinois writes the rule for translators, and it shows who does the converting. Its admission policies say: "Translators must refrain from converting grade, credit, and other information into what they think could or may be U.S. equivalencies. Our admissions officers make such determinations. Do not send transcripts that have been evaluated by third parties (ECE, WES, etc.)."

CBSE and ISC marksheets are already in English, so you need no translator. The principle still applies: the college converts, not you. Princeton says the same thing more directly: "We also do not expect you or your school to provide a conversion or grade-point average (GPA) if this is not a standard practice provided by your school or education system" (Princeton, international students).

What goes wrong with a home-made conversion:

1. It does not match your school's documents. The reader sees 3.9 in your form and 84% on the marksheet, and now has a question about you instead of about your marks.
2. There is no agreed formula. Any online calculator is someone's guess. The college has its own method.
3. It hides your school's context. An 84% in a school where few students pass 80% reads differently from an 84% in a school where many do. Only the school can say which.

What to do instead: ask your school to attach a school profile. Common App's school profile guide lists "Grading systems" among what a profile may include, and says profiles "help provide context to colleges as they review a student's application." If your school has never made one, explaining your grading scale to US colleges and the school profile for international schools cover what it should say.

CBSE, ICSE, ISC or state board: does the board matter?

Not in any rule we found. Princeton says "there is no preference or advantage to a particular system or country." Purdue lists "the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or State Board" together, with the same document list.

What does matter is the subjects you took after Class 10. Purdue says: "While not taking mathematics and/or laboratory science classes will disadvantage your academic profile, we do still encourage you to apply to Purdue for consideration. We strongly encourage students in this situation to take the SAT or ACT to show their math ability."

Two contrasting cases, constructed by us, not real applicants:

• Case 1 (invented): Meera, CBSE, science stream. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, Computer Science. She types each subject and mark exactly as printed, selects "none" for rank and GPA scale, and leaves the GPA blank. Her school's profile states its marking scheme. Nothing needs explaining.
• Case 2 (invented): Kabir, ISC, commerce stream, applying for economics. Accountancy, Commerce, Economics, English, Business Studies, no Mathematics after Class 10. His marks are entered the same way. But for a college like Purdue, the missing mathematics is the issue, not the board. Purdue's own advice is a math test score. His Additional Information note can say in one sentence what his school offered in the commerce stream, if that is why he has no Class 11 mathematics.

A weak Class 11 term: where to explain it

Use Additional Information, a 300-word box since 2025–26 (Common App, 2025–26 changes). Common App's GPA help article also points there: "You can also share more in the additional information or writing sections." Keep it to facts: what happened, when, what the marks show, what changed.

Constructed example: a Class 11 dip in Additional Information

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): a CBSE student whose first-term Class 11 marks fell during an illness.

In August and September of Class 11, I missed five weeks of school with dengue and took my first-term exams without making up the lessons. My Chemistry mark that term was 61%. I covered the missed units with my teacher in October, and my Chemistry mark in the second-term exam was 88%.

That is 52 words. It names the term, the cause, the subject, both marks and what the student did. It does not ask for sympathy or add a life lesson. What belongs in Additional Information covers what else fits in that box.

Before you submit: a five-minute check

1. Every subject name and mark in the form matches your school's marksheet, character for character.
2. Rank and GPA scale say "none" unless your school issues them.
3. No number in your application was calculated by you.
4. Your school knows which colleges need Class 9, 10 and 11 marksheets and the Class 10 certificate, and by what date.
5. Any dip or stream gap has one factual note in Additional Information, not an essay.
6. For the UC application, which is separate, see UC application grades for CBSE and other systems.

Questions about CBSE marks on the Common App

Should I convert my CBSE percentage to a 4.0 GPA?

No. Common App says to select "none" for an unlisted scale and leave the GPA blank. Princeton says it does not expect a conversion or GPA where that is not your school's practice.

Do US universities consider Class 11 marks?

Yes. Georgia Tech asks for "XI internal marks", Purdue and Northeastern ask for grades from years 9 to 11, and Illinois asks you to self-report all coursework.

Do Class 10 board marks matter for US colleges?

Yes, at the colleges we checked. Georgia Tech asks for "Class X board results", Purdue for the "Standard X certificate", and Northeastern for "Indian Standard X board exam results".

What if my school does not give a class rank?

Select "none". Common App says: "If your school doesn't calculate class rank, select none."

Can a consultant send my marksheets?

Not to Northeastern. It says transcripts sent "by you, your family or an independent educational consultant will not be accepted." Your school sends them. Board merit certificates and Olympiad selections belong in honors, not here; see Common App honors for Indian students.

Your board does not decide whether you need an English test; the college's clause does. See English proficiency waivers for Indian students.

Get a free review of your Additional Information section

Get a free Quick Review of your Additional Information section against GradPilot's Additional Information rubric. It reads whether your note gives the reader the specific context needed to understand part of your record, such as a disruption or a course, and whether the timing of a change is clear. Writing your main essay too? The Common App essay review routes it to the right rubric.

Every undergraduate guide is in college admissions essays.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• Common App, How do I report my class rank and GPA? (no year stated): rank and GPA fields, "none", blank GPA, scholarship and direct-admission line.
• Common App, Do all Common App colleges use the Courses & Grades section? (no year stated): list of colleges that require it.
• Common App, What if my grading scale doesn't appear in the dropdown? (no year stated): "Other" option.
• Common App, Application guide for first-year students: Education section.
• Common App, Developing a school profile (© 2025): grading systems and context.
• Common App, Announcing the 2025–2026 essay prompts (2025–26): Additional information "from 650 to 300 words max".
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, International requirements (Fall 2027): self-reporting; official transcripts only on enrolment.
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, General admission policies: translators must not convert grades.
• Northeastern University, International applicants: grades 9 to 11; Standard X certificate; school-sent transcripts only.
• Purdue University, International students: India documents; mathematics and laboratory science note.
• Georgia Tech, International first-year applicants and first-year deadlines (2026–2027): Indian National Curriculum documents; transcript years.
• Princeton University, International students: no conversion expected; no system preference.