Getting Nepali Transcripts and Degrees Evaluated for US Admission

How Nepal's school and university system maps to the US

Nepali students who apply to the US come from one consistent structure. Ten years of school lead to the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) after grade 10, which replaced the older School Leaving Certificate (SLC) in 2016. Grade 11 and 12, commonly called +2 or Higher Secondary, add two more years, bringing your total school years to 12, the same length US admissions offices expect from a high school diploma. A bachelor's degree from a Nepali university typically runs three to four years depending on the subject, engineering, computer science, and some professional degrees run four years, while many BA, BSc, and BBS programs run three.

US universities and credential evaluators read SEE plus +2 as equivalent to a US high school diploma. A Nepali bachelor's degree reads as a US bachelor's degree in terms of level, though total years of education, 15 for a three-year bachelor's versus 16 for a four-year one, can matter for graduate admission. Some US graduate schools apply an unwritten 16-year rule and ask three-year bachelor's holders for an extra year of study, a postgraduate diploma, or partial completion of a master's degree in Nepal before they admit you directly into a master's program. This differs by university and department, ask your target schools directly whether your specific degree qualifies before you assume it does.

Why your transcript's grading system matters

SEE and +2 results issued since the reform report a GPA on a 4-point scale with letter grades from A+ down to E, rather than a raw percentage. Older transcripts, including university transcripts at some Nepali institutions, still show marks as a percentage alongside a division, First, Second, or Third. A NACES member evaluator converts either format into a US-style GPA using its own conversion methodology, you do not need to calculate this yourself. What you do need is a transcript that lists every subject and every grade or mark clearly, an evaluator working from an incomplete or summarized transcript cannot produce an accurate report.

Step 1: Request official transcripts from the right office

1. SEE transcript and certificate, from your school and the National Examinations Board

2. +2 transcript and certificate, from your +2 college and the board office that administered it

3. Bachelor's transcript and certificate, from your university's examination controller office, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Pokhara University, or Purbanchal University among others

Ask for a sealed, official transcript addressed for international evaluation, not a personal copy. Some offices seal and stamp the envelope for you to send unopened, others email a secure digital transcript directly to your evaluator or university. Confirm the accepted method with your evaluator before you request the document.

Step 2: Choose a NACES member evaluator

US universities that require an outside evaluation almost always specify a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) , currently 18 organizations including World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), and Josef Silny and Associates. Check your target school's admissions page for whether it names a specific evaluator or accepts any NACES member, some schools have a preferred partner.

Step 3: Pick the right type of evaluation

Evaluators offer two main report types. A document-by-document evaluation confirms your credential's US equivalency, a high school diploma or bachelor's degree, and is enough for most admission purposes. A course-by-course evaluation lists every subject you took with its US credit and grade equivalent, and is what schools want if you are applying for transfer credit or a program that reviews your specific coursework. Choose based on what your target school's admissions page asks for, a course-by-course report costs more and takes longer.

Step 4: Submit your transcripts and order the evaluation

Send your sealed transcripts to your evaluator by the method it specifies, mail, a secure portal, or direct transmission from your school. Most evaluators need your original-language documents plus a certified English translation if your transcript is in Nepali. Order the evaluation early, processing typically takes several weeks once the evaluator has your complete documents, and delays your admission decision if you order it close to a deadline.

Authentication for documents a school flags as needing extra proof

Nepal is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, so a single apostille stamp does not apply to Nepali documents the way it does for some other countries. If a university or evaluator specifically asks you to authenticate a document beyond the school or board's own seal, that usually routes through Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, where required, the US Embassy in Kathmandu. Most routine transcript evaluations do not need this extra step, ask your evaluator directly before you assume you need it.

Common mistakes that delay evaluations

• Sending a personal copy of your transcript instead of an office-sealed original

• Choosing an evaluator that is not a NACES member, which some schools reject outright

• Ordering a document-by-document report when your school wanted course-by-course, or the reverse

• Waiting until your application deadline to start the evaluation, when it takes weeks

• Sending an incomplete transcript that lists only a final GPA without individual subject marks

What this costs

Evaluation fees differ by evaluator and report type, and most also charge a separate delivery fee for each school you send the report to. A WES course-by-course report costs $186 as of 2026 for the Basic tier, rising to $239 for the ICAP tier, before delivery fees (WES ). Check your chosen evaluator's own fee page for current pricing before you order, fees change and differ across the 18 NACES members.