UC Application Grades: CBSE, IB, A-Level, Canada

UC Application Grades: CBSE, IB, A-Level, Canada

On the UC application you enter every course and mark exactly as your school reports it: numbers, letters, percentages or words. You do not convert to a US 4.0 scale. External exams (CBSE Class X and XII boards, IGCSE, A-levels, SPM) go on a separate International Exams page, one entry per sitting.

It is tempting to start with a conversion chart. For UC that is the wrong first step. UC Berkeley's page says it in five words: "Do not attempt to convert your grades." Below: what UC requires for each school system, where each mark goes, and where two official UC pages disagree.

Every UC, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026, for applicants filing in the fall 2027 window (October 1 to November 30, 2026). Country rules can change mid-cycle, so reread UC's country page before you submit.

The universal rule: report, do not translate

UC's international admissions page gives first-year applicants one instruction for the Academic History section:

Record all courses and marks/grades earned exactly as reported by the international school — whether as numbers, letters, percentages or words.

And one for exams:

If you sat or will sit for external exams (e.g. IGCSE/GCSE/GCE exams, Year X/XII Board exams, SPM, etc.), report your subjects and grades/scores on the International Exams page of the application, under the Test Scores tab (step 4 of 5). If you sat for the same subject more than once, you must report the grades earned from each sitting.

Source: UC, Applying for admission (international).

Berkeley's international requirements page adds the reason and the mechanics. "Each UC campus, including UC Berkeley, has an International Admission Specialist who is familiar with the educational systems of other countries." Then: "Complete the educational history section of the application exactly as it appears on your school records. This includes choosing your school's grade scale and listing your grades as provided on your school record" (UC Berkeley, Requirements for International Students).

Our view: a converted grade is worse than no help. It is a second number the reader must reconcile with your real record. UC's Statement of Application Integrity says "Self-reported courses and grades must reflect official records" (UC, Statement of Application Integrity, last updated August 2023). If admitted, you send those official records. A homemade 3.9 that does not appear on any document is a mismatch you created.

The countercase: if your school itself reports US-style letter grades or a 4.0 GPA (a US-curriculum school, for example), then that is "as reported", and you enter it. The rule is about copying, not about which scale is better.

Where each part of your record goes

The English-test rules are in our UC English proficiency guide for TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo. The two comment boxes are covered in what to write in each UC Additional Comments box.

System by system: what UC's country page says

UC publishes a separate page of country rules for first-year applicants (UC, First year: Additional information by country). The quotes below are from that page unless another source is named.

India (CBSE and state boards)

You must complete both year X and XII state board or CBSE examinations, with average marks above 60 to be considered for admission. Report your subjects and marks on the International Exams page of the application, under the Test Scores tab (step 4 of 5).

Your Class 11 and 12 school marks go in Academic History as your school prints them. Board results go on the International Exams page. If your Class XII boards are still ahead of you, report them as planned: UC's instruction covers exams you "sat or will sit". For the Common App version of this question, see CBSE marks in the Common App education section.

Pakistan

You must complete both year X and XII state or board examinations with average marks above 70 to be considered for admission.

That is above 70 for Pakistan against above 60 for India, on the same UC page.

British system (IGCSE, GCSE, O-level, A-level)

You must complete at least 5 IGCSE/GCSE/GCE O-Levels, and at least 3 academic GCE A-Level exams to be considered for admission.

Berkeley is blunter: "Students who have only completed the IGCSE or O-level exams have not yet met the requirements for admission at UC Berkeley." It requires "completion of the two-year A-level program with a minimum of three academic exams, the IB diploma program, or another similar academic curriculum." Predicted A-level grades are a separate question; see predicted grades for A-levels and IB.

International Baccalaureate

UC's IB rules have three parts:

You must report grades exactly as they appear on your official academic records (that includes the secondary school transcript and exam report from the International Baccalaureate Organization.)

If your school releases predicted scores for the diploma exams, you should enter the predicted scores on the IB Exams page of the application.

If predicted IB scores are not available at the time you submit the application, you do not need to report them on the application, and you do not need to submit them at a later date (unless a campus requests that you do so). UC campuses do not use predicted scores as the only factor for admission.

If your school does not release predictions, UC's page says you leave the field empty and send nothing later. Do not invent a predicted score to fill it.

Canada

Quebec: You must complete the Diplôme d'études secondaires (DES) as well as the 2-year Diplôme d'études collégiales (DEC) offered at Collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEPs).

All other provinces and territories: You must earn the appropriate high school/secondary school graduation diploma after completing 12 years of education.

Quebec is the outlier: UC asks for the DEC as well as the DES. UC adds that it "may award up to one year of transfer credit on a course-by-course basis for coursework completed at a CEGEP."

China (national curriculum)

List all courses and marks, from grade 9 (year 3 of lower middle school) through grade 12 (years 1 through 3 of upper middle school) exactly as they appear on your official academic records.

If admitted, you must "be prepared to submit your Graduation Certificate from the upper middle school as well as official lower and upper middle school academic records (grades 9-12)." IGCSE/A-level and IB students in China follow those rules instead.

Korea

UC's Korea entry is about documents after admission: "If you are accepted to UC, you must complete required high school classes with above-average grades and submit official middle and senior high school academic records/transcripts and a senior high school diploma." It gives no numeric threshold. Enter marks as your school records them.

Singapore

You must complete either the Integrated Programme or at least 5 Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Levels, and at least 3 academic Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level exams at the H2 level to be considered for admission. UC will not consider H1 level exam results.

Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia

• Malaysia: "either the SPM and STPM or the SPM and at least 3 academic GCE A-Level exams."
• Indonesia: "You must complete the SMP and SMA". Report both on the International Exams page.
• New Zealand: "complete year 13 and earn at least 42 credits at NCEA Level 3", reporting NCEA Levels 1 to 3.
• Saudi Arabia: after admission, both the Intermediate School Certificate and the GSEC by July 1. The page states "a minimum average of 75 percent is needed for consideration with no grade lower than 65 percent."

Thirteen-year systems

UC's instruction:

You should list your 13th year of coursework under 12th grade and work backward through 11th, 10th and 9th grades.

UCLA's international FAQ, checked the same day, describes a different layout: "list your 13 year of coursework in the 12th-grade section and work backward through the 11th to 8th-grade sections" (UCLA, International Applicants). The two pages agree on the top row. They differ on how far back to go. Follow the fields the application actually shows you, and if your 10th year has nowhere to go, say so in Additional comments in one line.

The 3.4 GPA and the 15 courses

UC's international page sets the academic pattern: "Complete 15 year-long academic courses with a 3.4 GPA." The 15 courses are:

• 2 years of history ("in place of U.S. History, history of your country")
• 4 years of composition and literature "in language in which you are instructed"
• 3 years of college-preparatory mathematics
• 2 years of college-preparatory science
• 2 years of a second language
• 1 yearlong course of visual and performing arts
• 1 additional course from any of those areas

UC San Diego states the same floor for its campus: "Non-California residents, including International applicants, must earn a GPA of 3.4 (or better) with no grade lower than a 'C'" (UC San Diego, First-Year Application Requirements).

Neither page asks you to compute a US GPA. Berkeley also notes "There is no pre-approved course list for schools outside of California." Your job is accurate entry; Berkeley's answer to how a percentage gets read is its International Admission Specialists, not a student calculation.

UC's "All other countries" entry sets the expectation for any system not listed: "UC is aware that many school systems may not offer similar courses, but we do expect students to take challenging courses offered in their schools." If your school does not offer an arts course or a second language, that is a fact to state in Additional comments, not a gap to hide.

Constructed example: CBSE marks entered right and wrong

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant record. Context (invented): a CBSE student in Pune, Class 12 in progress, school reports Class 11 marks as percentages out of 100.

Wrong (converted):

Class 11 Physics: A (4.0). Class 11 Chemistry: A- (3.7). Class 11 English Core: A (4.0). Self-calculated GPA: 3.85.

Right (as reported):

Academic History, 11th grade: Physics 91. Chemistry 84. Mathematics 95. English Core 88. Computer Science 93. Grade scale: percentage, out of 100.

International Exams page: CBSE Class X (sat 2025), five subjects with marks as printed on the marksheet. CBSE Class XII: planned, 2027.

Why the second version works: every number matches a document the student will send if admitted, the scale is named, and the planned Class XII sitting tells the reader the record is not finished. The first version invents letter grades the school never issued and a GPA no UC page asked for.

National service and gap years

UC's application defines a first-year applicant as someone who has "not enrolled in a regular session (fall, winter or spring) at a college or university" (UC, Filling out the application). A gap year or military service does not by itself make you a transfer applicant.

Berkeley's rule on service is specific:

Students from countries requiring entry into military service upon completion of secondary education should not submit an application until the obligation has been met. UC Berkeley will not guarantee deferred admission to a later term once admitted.

That is a Berkeley rule, stated on Berkeley's page. It is not a UC-wide statement. If service sits between you and enrollment, our national service guide for applying while serving covers the timing choice.

After admission: documents and conditions

UC's international page says that if you are admitted, "we must receive an official academic record directly from each institution you attended, beginning with grade nine for first-year applicants." Each record must list dates attended, course and exam titles, grades, credits or hours, and any diploma with its completion date.

UC also says "After you submit your undergraduate application, you may be requested to send your copies to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at each campus to which you have applied", so keep legible copies ready.

Two costs to plan for: UC charges "a $95 application fee for each campus to which you apply", and "international students enrolled in a U.S. institution may qualify for the $80 application fee." UC also states: "You should not submit letters of recommendation for the UC application." Your record and your writing carry the file.

A 10-minute check before you submit

1. Every Academic History mark matches your school record character for character.
2. The grade scale you selected is your school's scale, not a US one.
3. Every board or national exam is on the International Exams page, with each sitting listed.
4. Planned exams (Class XII, A-level, IB) are marked as planned, with dates.
5. IB predicted scores appear only if your school released them.
6. Your country's threshold (India above 60, Pakistan above 70, Singapore H2 only, Quebec DEC) is met or will be met by graduation.
7. A 13-year record fits the fields without dropping a year, and any missing subject or oddity has one line in Additional comments.

Questions about UC grades for international students

Should I convert my percentages to a 4.0 GPA on the UC application?

No. Berkeley's page says "Do not attempt to convert your grades," and UC's page says to record marks "exactly as reported." Choose your school's grade scale.

Does UC accept Canadian high school students?

Yes, with a province rule. Outside Quebec you need a 12-year graduation diploma. Quebec students need both the DES and the 2-year DEC.

Where do I explain an unusual grading system?

In the Additional comments field, in a few factual lines. UC says the field "shouldn't be an essay, but rather a place to note unusual circumstances." For how international context belongs in the essays themselves, see UC PIQs for international students.

Get a free review of your UC PIQ

Get a free Quick Review of your UC PIQ against GradPilot's UC PIQ Opportunity and Challenge rubric. It reads whether your answer establishes one circumstance, why it mattered in your setting, what you did next and the academic consequence, which is where a school system UC readers may not know becomes legible. For the short context note itself, the Additional Information rubric reads whether it gives the reader context they need in an account they can follow. On the UC PIQ review page you pick the rubric closest to the question you answered.

More on the fall 2027 UC cycle: the UC PIQ cycle guide for 2026-2027, how to explain your grading scale to US colleges, and every undergraduate guide in college admissions essays.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• University of California, Applying for admission (international applicants): marks "exactly as reported"; International Exams page; 15 courses with a 3.4 GPA; fees; official records after admission; letters of recommendation.
• University of California, First year: Additional information by country (page states no cycle year): every country rule quoted above.
• UC Berkeley, Requirements for International Students: "Do not attempt to convert your grades"; International Admission Specialists; IGCSE/O-level note; military service rule.
• UCLA, International Applicants: 13-year FAQ (back to the 8th-grade section).
• UC San Diego, First-Year Application Requirements: 3.4 minimum for non-California applicants, including international.
• University of California, Filling out the application: first-year applicant definition; additional comments guidance.
• University of California, Statement of Application Integrity (last updated August 2023): self-reported grades must reflect official records.
• University of California, Dates and deadlines (first year): fall 2027 filing period, October 1 to November 30.