Grades
Be sure to check with the university website. A lot of them have sections on grade requirements which are already tailored to certain countries.
Germany |
USA* |
UK (A-levels) |
UK (university)** |
Australia (university) |
| Sehr gut + (0.8) | A+ | A* | first-class (with distinction) | Honours Class I |
| Sehr gut (1.0) | A (4.0) | A | first-class | Honours Class I |
| Sehr gut - (1.5) | A- | A | first-class | Honours Class I |
| Gut + (1.8) | B+ | B | upper second-class (2:1) | Honours Class II Division 1 |
| Gut (2.0) | B (3.0) | B | upper second-class (2:1) | Honours Class II Division 1 |
| Gut - (2.5) | B- | B | lower second-class (2:2) | Honours Class II Division 2 |
| Befriedigend + (2.8) | C+ | C | lower second-class (2:2) | Honours Class II Division 2 |
| Befriedigend (3.0) | C (2.0) | C | third-class | Honours Class III |
| Befriedigend - (3.5) | C- | C | third-class | Honours Class III |
| Ausreichend (4.0) | D (1.0) | D/E | passed without honours/unclassified/ordinary | Honours Class III |
| Mangelhaft (5.0) | ||||
| Ungenügend (6.0) | failure | U | fail | fail |
* The Canadian grading system is similar to the US system, with letter grades for courses and the Grade Point Average (GPA) system used for overall grades.
** The South African grading system is the same as the UK system.
Tips about grades
- The grades equivalents in the grade table above are only approximate. You can indicate approximate grade equivalents in your CV like this: "1.8 (approximately equivalent to a British upper second-class degree)".
- Due to "grade inflation" in the US, many people say that there are now only three grades, 'A' (4.0), 'B' (3.0) and 'C' (2.0). A 'C' grade in the US is approximately a 3.0 in the German system but would be considered just about average by US employers and colleges. Anything less than a 'C' in the US is basically a fail. We recommend you use the more general letter grades rather than trying to convert grade averages (e.g. 2.2) into the US system. In recent years the UK has also seen grade inflation, particularly for A-levels. One more reason not to undersell yourself when applying to English-speaking countries.
- Note that in English a decimal point is used (1.8) instead of a comma (1,8).
- If you need to write about your grades in more detail, you could write: "Average grade: 2.1 (on a scale of 1-5 (university level), where 1 is the best grade; approximately equivalent to an overall "B" grade).
- If you are applying to a US college or university to do a course of study, don't be surprised if you are asked for your "class ranking" - your position within your class. If you do not know what your rank is (you probably don't), you must explain that it is not common in Germany to rank students.