Chile, Peru, Colombia Grades for Grad School

Chile, Peru, Colombia Grades for Grad School

Type your grade on its own scale: Chile out of 7, Peru out of 20, Colombia out of 5, Mexico and Argentina out of 10. UK universities publish their own lines, and they disagree: for Colombia, York lists 3.8/5 as a 2:1 while Bristol asks for 4+. A rank certificate calibrates you better than any conversion.

Latin American scales are short. A Chilean 5.5 or a Peruvian 15 can look ordinary to a reader who thinks in percentages. A homemade 4.0 GPA does not fix that; it adds a number no university asked for. Our take: the fix is the rank document your own system already produces, such as a tercio superior certificate or a ranking de egreso, quoted once. This page gives the published lines, the rank documents, and a decision rule for whether your statement mentions grades at all. When the draft is ready, start a statement of purpose review and choose the general MS statement of purpose rubric.

Every university and Fulbright commission page quoted below was checked on October 31, 2026. The UK pages state no admission year, so recheck your own course page before you apply.

Where Bristol, Birmingham and York set the line

One row per system, one column per university, each from that university's own country page. A blank means the page gives no number.

Three details change real decisions:

• Peru: York splits public and private universities. Its page reads "a score of 13 out of 20 for public/state institutions (15 out of 20 for private institutions) is considered comparable to a UK 2:1". A 14 from a private university meets Birmingham's line and misses York's.
• Colombia: two lines for one class. A 3.9 meets York's 2:1 line and misses Bristol's "4+".
• Mexico: Bristol limits the institutions. Its page says "We can only consider qualifications from selected institutions in Mexico." Ask Bristol before you assume your promedio settles it.

The US pages we checked publish no country lines; they ask for the record itself. UCLA's required academic records page says records must show, "if rank is determined, rank in the total class or group" and "a complete description of the institution's grading scale". Stanford's FAQ says: "Enter your GPA as it appears on your transcript." The school-by-school form rules are in converting foreign grades to a GPA for US grad school.

Why the raw number misleads, and why a conversion does not fix it

Take York's 2:1 line for each system and divide it by the top of the scale. Our arithmetic:

One university reads the same UK class from 65% to 80% of the maximum. So "my 13/20 is 65%, which is a C" is wrong at York, and a percentage-based conversion carries that error into your file. That is the case against converting: the reader already has a line for your system, on your scale.

Our view: do not write a converted GPA anywhere, not on the form, the CV or the SOP, unless a school publishes its own method. The basis is that every reader above states its line in your units, and UCLA requires the scale description on the record itself. The countercase: a portal that only accepts a value on a 4.0 scale, with no scale field and no published method, forces a choice. Ask the program what to enter and keep the reply.

Rank documents: tercio superior, ranking de egreso and class rank

A rank with its denominator is the one academic fact a foreign reader can calibrate without knowing your scale. Peru and Chile already issue it on paper, and their Fulbright commissions show what each document is called.

• Peru. Fulbright Peru's postgraduate award asks for a "Certificado de tercio superior durante la mitad de la carrera o más emitido por la universidad o haber aprobado la tesis con honores." That is a certificate that you were in the top third of your cohort for at least half the degree, issued by your university.
• Chile. Fulbright Chile's master's call asks for a "Certificado de ranking de egreso de pregrado" stating "el lugar que el postulante ocupó respecto del total de alumnos de su pregrado". It adds that a ranking de titulación "no será considerado como reemplazo del ranking de egreso". If your university issues both, they are different documents. The eligibility options built on them are in the Fulbright Chile magíster essays guide.
• Colombia. Fulbright Colombia's 2026 call uses the average, not a rank: "promedio mínimo acumulado de 4.0 sobre 5.0 en cada programa cursado".
• Mexico and Argentina. None of the pages quoted on this page names a rank document for these systems. If your department states your position in the cohort, ask for it in writing.

How to use the document: put the rank in the application where the form asks, upload the certificate if the portal allows extra documents, and give it one clause in the statement. Use the English meaning first and the official name second, so the reader can match it to the upload.

Argentina: the average with aplazos

Fulbright Argentina's master's and doctorate award sets its floor as "Tener siete puntos como mínimo de promedio académico (el promedio incluye los aplazos)". The average includes failed exams.

The UK pages above say "promedio of at least 7.5" and "grade 7.5 or higher" and do not say whether fails count. That is unknown, so ask. Our recommendation: enter the average your university certifies as official. If it certifies two averages, with and without aplazos, give the reader the one its rule names. Where the rule names neither, enter the one with aplazos and label it in the comments box. A reader who later finds a lower average on your certificate will trust nothing else you wrote.

The 7.5 out of 10 question: should the SOP mention grades at all?

Run this in order. Stop at the first row that applies.

For Fulbright Colombia, your academic and professional record is 25 of the 100 academic-evaluation points and each essay is 30; the Fulbright Colombia essays guide sets out the weights.

If your grades are low for a reason, not just unfamiliar, that is a different job: see how to explain a low GPA in your SOP. If the problem is that readers do not know your university, the strict grading and unknown university guide gives the context sentence.

Constructed examples: three clauses checked against the table

Constructed examples, written by us, not real applicant statements. Each one obeys the decision rule above for York's published lines.

Context (invented): a Chilean civil engineering graduate with a 5.3/7, below York's 5.5 line, ranked 12th of 85 on her ranking de egreso certificate.

"I graduated 12th of 85 in my civil engineering cohort (certificado de ranking de egreso), with my best results in hydraulics and geotechnics."

Context (invented): a Peruvian economics graduate of a private university with 14.8/20, under York's private-university line of 15, holding a tercio superior certificate.

"I was in the top third of my economics cohort for the last eight semesters of my degree, as certified by my university (certificado de tercio superior)."

Context (invented): a Mexican chemistry graduate with a promedio of 8.3/10, above the 8 that Bristol, Birmingham and York list.

Before: "My promedio of 8.3 out of 10 is equivalent to a very good GPA and reflects my commitment to academic excellence."

After: the sentence is deleted. The 8.3 goes on the form, and the paragraph opens with the analytical chemistry project instead.

The first two clauses give a rank with a denominator or a named certificate, which the reader can match to an upload. The third case meets every published line, so any sentence about it spends words on a fact the form already holds.

Questions about Latin American grades

Is a Colombian 4.0 out of 5 a 2:1?

At York, yes: its 2:1 line is 3.8. At Bristol, the line is "4+". Fulbright Colombia's minimum is also 4.0. Read the course page of each university you apply to; the country page is a floor.

Does it matter whether my Peruvian university is public or private?

At York it does: 13/20 for public universities, 15/20 for private ones. Birmingham's page gives 13/20 with no split. Bristol's page asks for an accredited degree and gives no grade.

What about Brazil?

Bristol's Brazil page asks for a Bacharel or Licenciado of four years or more "with good marks" and gives no number. We did not find a numeric line for Brazil on the pages checked for this guide, so we print none. The SOP for US masters from Brazil guide covers Brazilian applicants.

Do I need a WES evaluation to get a US GPA?

Not for Stanford's form, which wants your GPA as printed, with its scale. Other schools set their own rules; see whether you need WES before applying for an MS.

My licenciatura is five or six years. Does that change the grade question?

No, it changes the eligibility question. See whether a licenciatura is a bachelor's or a master's.

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. For a UK course, use the UK master's personal statement rubric; for a doctorate, the PhD statement of purpose rubric.

More guides for Latin American applicants:

• SOP for MS in USA from Mexico: titulación, SECIHTI timing and an engineering example.
• SOP for Masters in USA from Colombia: turning a Fulbright Colombia essay into a program-first SOP.
• Spanish grades and Matrícula de Honor: the same question for Spain's 0 to 10 scale.
• Graduate school essays hub: every master's guide in one place.

Sources

Retrieved October 31, 2026, except where noted.

• University of Bristol, country pages for Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil (no year stated): master's entry lines.
• University of Birmingham, country pages for Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina (no year stated): postgraduate lines.
• University of York, country pages for Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina (no year stated): 2:1 and 2:2 lines.
• UCLA Graduate Education, Required Academic Records (no year stated): rank and grading-scale description.
• Stanford Graduate Admissions, FAQ (no year stated): GPA as it appears on the transcript.
• Comisión Fulbright Perú, Beca de Posgrado Fulbright (call for August/September 2027 entry; closed): tercio superior certificate.
• Comisión Fulbright Chile, Bases Beca Fulbright de Magíster, Convocatoria 2026 (closed March 31, 2026): ranking de egreso certificate.
• Comisión Fulbright Colombia, J. William Fulbright Program (2026 call, closed May 15, 2026): 4.0 sobre 5.0 average.
• Comisión Fulbright Argentina, Beca Master y Doctorado (2027 award; call closed March 25, 2026): average including aplazos.