Getting Vietnamese Transcripts and Degrees Evaluated for US Admission
By Muntasir • Published Sep 18, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026
US schools read your Vietnamese grades and diploma through a NACES-member evaluator, who converts your 0-10 scale marks to a US 4.0 GPA and states what your Vietnamese credential equals in the US system.
🎓 A Bang Tot Nghiep THPT equals a US high school diploma, a Cao Dang (2-3.5 years) equals a US associate degree, and a Bang Cu Nhan (4-5 years) equals a US bachelor's degree.
📩 Order a course-by-course evaluation, not a document-by-document one, if a school wants your converted GPA for a competitive review.
💵 Fees and processing time differ by evaluation agency, so compare NACES members directly before you order.
Why US schools require an evaluation
US admission officers do not read a Vietnamese transcript on their own. A credential evaluation service translates your grades and credential level into terms a US school recognizes: a converted GPA on the standard 4.0 scale and a statement of what your Vietnamese qualification equals in the US system. Most US universities either require this evaluation from an approved agency or strongly recommend it for applicants whose prior education happened outside the US.
How Vietnam's education system maps to the US system
Vietnam's school system runs elementary school (5 years), lower secondary school (4 years), and upper secondary school (3 years), then higher education. The overall structure resembles the US system, with associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels at the university stage, according to World Education Services .
| Vietnamese credential | US equivalent |
|---|---|
| Bang Tot Nghiep Pho Thong Trung Hoc (upper secondary diploma) | High school diploma |
| Cao Dang (2-3.5 years) | Associate degree |
| Bang Cu Nhan (4 years, 5 years for engineering) | Bachelor's degree |
| Bang Thac Si (2 years) | Master's degree |
| Tien Si (2-3 years minimum beyond a master's) | PhD |
Source: World Education Services .
Converting your grades
Vietnamese secondary and university grades use a 0-10 scale, with 5.0 as the minimum passing score. Vietnamese universities also map that scale to letter grades: 9.0-10 as A, 8.0-8.9 as B+, 7.0-7.9 as B, 6.0-6.9 as C+, and 5.0-5.9 as C, with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on the 4-point scale required to complete a bachelor's degree, per World Education Services . An evaluator converts your transcript from the 0-10 or letter-grade scale into a standard 4.0 GPA that a US admissions committee can compare against other applicants.
Ask your target schools whether they want a document-by-document evaluation, which confirms your credential level only, or a course-by-course evaluation, which lists each course, credit value, and converted grade. Graduate programs and competitive undergraduate programs usually want the course-by-course version.
Choosing an evaluation agency
Use an agency that belongs to the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), since most US universities only accept evaluations from NACES members. Current members include Educational Credential Evaluators, World Education Services, International Education Research Foundation, Josef Silny and Associates, Academic Evaluation Services, Global Credential Evaluators, and International Education Evaluations, according to NACES . All of them work with applicants remotely, so you do not need to be near a US office to order an evaluation from Vietnam.
Compare price, processing time, and whether the agency has handled Vietnamese credentials before you order, since document requirements and turnaround differ between agencies.
Documents to send your evaluator
Official transcripts issued directly by your school or university, not photocopies from you.
Your Bang Tot Nghiep THPT or university degree certificate.
Certified English translations if your evaluator does not translate in-house.
Mark sheets or academic records covering every year of the credential being evaluated.
Order early. Evaluation processing adds weeks on top of the time it takes your school to issue and send official transcripts, and you need the completed evaluation before most application deadlines, not after.
Sending the evaluation to your schools
Most agencies send your evaluation directly to each university on your list, and some also issue a copy for your own Common App or portal upload. Check each school's admission page for its preferred delivery method before you place your order, so the agency sends it the right way the first time and you avoid a second, delayed request.
Budgeting time and money for the evaluation
Evaluation fees and turnaround differ by agency and by how detailed a report you order, so request a quote directly from two or three NACES members before you commit to one. A course-by-course report generally costs more and takes longer than a document-by-document one, since the evaluator reviews every course on your transcript individually.
Build the evaluation into your application timeline as its own task, not an afterthought. If your target schools have different deadlines, order early enough to meet the earliest one, and confirm each school accepts an evaluation completed before you submit your application rather than one still in progress.
When a school does not require a full evaluation
Some US universities review foreign transcripts in-house through their own international admissions staff and do not require an outside evaluation for admission, though they may still require one later for a specific purpose, such as verifying a bachelor's degree before offering a graduate assistantship. Check each school's international admission page directly rather than assuming every school follows the same rule, since requirements differ even between schools in the same US state.
What if your transcript looks different from what your evaluator expects
Vietnamese schools sometimes issue records with local formatting, stamps, or a mix of Vietnamese and English that does not match a standard US transcript layout. This is normal and evaluators who work with Vietnamese credentials regularly know how to read it. If an evaluator asks for a clarifying document, such as a course syllabus or a letter from your school confirming credit hours, respond quickly so the request does not stall your file close to a deadline.