Convert Foreign Grades to GPA for US Grad School?
Stanford says do not convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale; Berkeley wants grades transcribed, not converted. What to type in the form and what your SOP says.
Convert Foreign Grades to GPA for US Grad School?
No, not by default. Stanford's graduate FAQ says: "Enter your GPA as it appears on your transcript. Do not convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale if it's reported on a different scale." Berkeley wants translated grades "transcribed, not converted." Type the number your transcript shows, and its scale.
The conversion question has two halves. One is the application form: which number goes in the GPA box. The other is your statement of purpose: what, if anything, it says about grades. This page settles the form first, then the statement, which usually needs one clause at most. It sits in our graduate school essays hub; if you are applying to an MBA, the MBA version of this question covers business-school forms.
Every Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Illinois, Seoul National University and University of Passau page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. Application forms change between cycles, so read the GPA instructions inside your own application before you type anything.
The rule at four schools: enter the GPA on your transcript's scale
These are the graduate admissions offices' own instructions, not converter websites.
| School | What its page says | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford | "You are asked to enter both GPA and GPA scale for each institution you list on the application. Enter your GPA as it appears on your transcript. Do not convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale if it's reported on a different scale." | Type your GPA and the maximum of your scale, both as printed |
| UC Berkeley | For translations: "Degree names and grades should be transcribed, not converted, into English words or the U.S. grades of A-F." | If you need a translation, the translator copies grades; nobody re-scales them |
| UCLA | "The records must also include a complete description of the institution's grading scale or other standard of evaluation. Maximum and minimum marks and the steps between them must be indicated." | Make sure your uploaded transcript carries its grading legend |
| Illinois | Minimum "admission grade point average (GPA)* of 3.0 (A=4.0), or a comparable GPA for an international applicant"; "The admission GPA is calculated based on the last two years of undergraduate study." | Illinois calculates its own admission GPA; you do not hand it one |
Read the last row carefully. Illinois states its minimum on a 4.0 scale, but it says "comparable GPA for an international applicant" and calculates the admission GPA itself from your last two years. A school that publishes a 3.0 minimum is not asking you to convert. If the last-two-years window affects you, which credits count in a last-60-credit GPA explains how those windows work.
Our view: do not produce a 4.0 number yourself unless the form forces one and the school tells you how. The basis is the table above: the transcript a reader opens carries its own scale (UCLA requires it to), so a self-made "3.7" beside a transcript that says 87/100 gives the reader two numbers to reconcile, and only one of them is official.
The countercase: some program forms have a single GPA box that only accepts a value up to 4.0, and some departments publish their own conversion instructions. When a school publishes a method, follow it; it outranks this page.
When a form forces a 4.0 number
Run these four checks in order. Stop at the first one that applies.
- Look for a scale field. If the form has "GPA" and "scale" (or "maximum") fields, fill both with the original numbers: 87.4 and 100, or 3.81 and 4.3. This is the Stanford pattern, and it needs no conversion.
- Look for the school's own instructions. Search the program's admissions FAQ and the help text beside the field. If it publishes a method or a worksheet, use exactly that method.
- If the field only takes a 4.0 value and no method is published, ask the program. Email the admissions contact on the program page with your scale and your number, and ask what to enter. Keep the reply.
- If you get no answer before the deadline, enter the original value where the form allows text, and use the comments or additional-information box, if the application has one, for one line: "My university grades on a 100-point scale; my cumulative average is 87.4/100, as shown on the uploaded transcript."
What not to do at any step: average a converter website's table and present the result as your GPA. No school on this page asks for that number, and none publishes it as a method.
What the transcript already tells the reader, system by system
The table covers grading systems for which we could load a university page stating the scale on October 30, 2026. It tells you what to type, not what your grades are "worth".
| System | What the source says | What to type | Trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | UCLA: "a minimum overall scholastic achievement of 80 on a 100 point scale" | Your cumulative average and 100 | Writing a converted 3.x in the SOP that the transcript contradicts |
| Taiwan | UCLA: "Official academic records should show numerical grades. If the institution has converted from numerical to letter grades, a conversion chart should also be submitted." | Your average as your record states it | Uploading letter grades without the university's own conversion chart |
| Korea (Seoul National University) | SNU's grade table runs from A+ = 4.3 down to F = 0 | Your GPA and 4.3 | Assuming every Korean university uses SNU's maximum; read your own legend |
| Germany | Passau: 1.0–1.3 "'sehr gut' – very good", 3.7–4.0 "'ausreichend' – sufficient", 4.3–5.0 "'mangelhaft' – deficient", fail | Your grade as printed, noting that lower is better | A 1.3 typed into a field that assumes higher is better; add the one-line note from step 4 |
| Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan | UCLA: "a master's degree awarded in first or high second class", with bachelor's first class also considered in architecture and engineering | Your percentage or CGPA as printed, plus your class or division if the form asks | Treating UCLA's class rule as a rule at every school; it is UCLA's |
| "Excellent, Very Good, Good, Pass" systems | UCLA: applicants "must present an academic record with at least a 'Very Good' general rating" | The rating and any numeric average your record shows | Replacing the rating with a home-made number |
Iran, Nigeria, Ghana, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are not in the table. We could not load a university or ministry page stating those scales on October 30, 2026, and we do not copy converter tables. The rule does not change for them: type the number and the maximum your transcript legend states, and let the legend do the explaining. A three-year degree raises a different question, eligibility, which the three-year bachelor's and US master's guide covers.
What the SOP should say about your grades
Usually nothing, and at most one clause. The form and the transcript carry the number and the scale. The statement of purpose is for preparation, purpose and fit; Stanford's prompt asks for your "reasons for applying", "preparation for this field of study, research interests, future career plans". A paragraph explaining your grading system spends words on something the reader already has.
The clause earns its place only when the number misleads on its own. UCLA's records rule asks for "rank in the total class or group" when rank is determined, so if your university ranks students, rank is the measure a US reader can calibrate. If your grades are low rather than unfamiliar, that is a different job; see how to explain a low GPA in your SOP. If your university is the unfamiliar part, our guide to explaining strict grading or an unknown university gives the one-sentence formula.
Constructed example: the conversion paragraph cut to one clause
Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): an applicant from a Chinese university with a cumulative average of 87.4/100, ranked by the department.
Before (62 words): "My university uses a 100-point grading system, which is different from the 4.0 system used in the United States. My cumulative average is 87.4 out of 100. According to several online conversion tools, this is approximately equivalent to a GPA of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale, which shows that I have maintained excellent academic performance throughout my four years of undergraduate study."
After (28 words): "I finished ranked 9th of 126 in my department, with my highest marks in probability and numerical methods, the two courses behind the forecasting project I describe below."
The revision deletes the conversion, which the transcript contradicts and no school asked for. It keeps one calibratable fact (rank with a denominator) and spends the rest of the sentence pointing at the work. The number 87.4 goes in the form, with 100 as the scale.
WES and other credential evaluations: before or after you apply
Do not buy an evaluation just to get a 4.0 number. Stanford's eligibility page says "A WES evaluation is not required during the application process" and that admitted students "may be required at that time to submit a WES evaluation as verification of your academic credentials." Berkeley lists a WES ICAP evaluation as one of two ways to submit translations when your records are not in English and your university does not offer a translation. Neither page asks you to type an evaluator's GPA into the form. Our page on whether you need WES before applying for an MS separates the application stage from enrollment verification.
Questions about converting foreign grades
Should I put a converted GPA on my CV?
Our recommendation: no. Use the original figure and scale ("87.4/100"), and add your rank if your transcript or department states it. A CV that says 3.7 and a transcript that says 87.4 is the same mismatch as in the form.
My university reports both a percentage and a CGPA. Which one do I enter?
Enter what the field asks for. If it asks for a single GPA, use the cumulative figure your transcript states as cumulative, with its scale. If the form has a comments box, give the other measure there in one line.
Is a Korean 3.8 out of 4.3 the same as a US 3.8?
You do not need to decide that, and the schools above do not ask you to. Enter 3.8 with 4.3 as the scale, and the reader sees both.
Does Illinois want me to calculate my last-two-years GPA?
Its page says the admission GPA "is calculated based on the last two years of undergraduate study". It describes the calculation the Graduate College makes, not a number you submit. Enter the GPA the form asks for, on your scale. If you studied in China, see what UCLA and Berkeley ask for Chinese transcripts and certificates.
Applicants with a transcript out of 20 from Iran should also read Iranian applicants to US grad school for the 2026 entry rules.
Get a free review of your statement of purpose
Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose against GradPilot's general MS statement of purpose rubric. It reads whether your statement explains your academic interests, preparation, goals and reasons for applying to the program, and whether your experiences support your plans. Applying for a doctorate? Use the PhD statement of purpose rubric, or start from the master's SOP review page.
More guides for international graduate applicants:
- Explain strict grading or an unknown university: the one-sentence context formula and what not to write.
- SOP for MS in USA from China: rank instead of university labels, the kaoyan year and team-project wording.
- SOP for MS in USA: the general structure of a US master's statement.
Sources
Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.
- Stanford Graduate Admissions, FAQ (no cycle stated): GPA and GPA scale entry; do not convert to 4.0.
- Stanford Graduate Admissions, Eligibility (no cycle stated): WES not required during the application.
- Stanford Graduate Admissions, Statements (no cycle stated): statement of purpose prompt.
- UC Berkeley Graduate Division, Requirements (Fall 2027 application): translations transcribed, not converted; WES ICAP route.
- UCLA Graduate Education, Required Academic Records (no cycle stated): grading-scale description, rank, China, Taiwan, South Asia and "Very Good" rules.
- University of Illinois Graduate College, Before You Begin (no cycle stated): 3.0 minimum or comparable international GPA; last-two-years admission GPA.
- Seoul National University, Grading (Korean-language page; no year stated): A+ = 4.3 to F = 0.
- University of Passau, Grading scale (no year stated): German 1.0 to 5.0 bands.
Get feedback on your statement of purpose
Paste your draft. The free Quick Review shows what to fix against an admissions rubric before you submit.