The do’s and don’ts regarding transcripts for an American university
The Dutch vs. the American Education System
published in BiOND Magazine, November 2024
We (BiOND)have received several concerning reports from school counselors who are being pressured into inflating the grades of students who wish to study in the United States.
This prompted us to speak with Marina Meijer of UStudy (International Education Consultancy). Marina urges school counselors not to cooperate with such requests, as doing so could constitute fraud.
The American system
Marina explained how the education system in the US works:
“In the United States, secondary education typically lasts six years. Years 3 – 6 students are in a high school program, and the resulting diploma can be compared to our Dutch HAVO diploma. Students take courses at a standard level and may choose to take some subjects at honors or college level. This is comparable to the Dutch VWO level and includes what is known as Advanced Placement (AP).
In other words, students effectively earn a customized diploma. By taking AP courses, students can even earn college credits that they can use toward their subsequent college education.
Therefore, the academic level in the US largely depends on the individual student and on how much effort they are willing to put in to stand out from the crowd.
For example, if they want to attend Harvard University, they need to have successfully completed honors courses as well as a number of AP courses with good exam results in order to increase their chances of admission and scholarships.
In addition, top universities expect prospective students to have made a demonstrable contribution to society. They are also expected to present an outstanding CV and letters of recommendation.
However, the transcripts from year 3 onward, the school counselor’s recommendation, and the school profile are the most important elements of the overall application. Students must have their transcripts sent to the university by their school counselor.
There are universities that place somewhat less emphasis on transcripts, but all top universities require them.”
Differences in Academic Level
This brings us to an issue that Dutch secondary-school counselors sometimes encounter:
“Our Dutch education system is structured differently from the American system.
The different academic levels used in the Netherlands are not known in the US. However, the Netherlands provides a high-quality education system, particularly at VWO level. It is also important to point out that only a limited number of students follow a VWO track.”
Putting Grades into Context
For this reason, school counselors are permitted to include an additional grade alongside the actual report-card grade for VWO students:
“We call this the US High School Equivalent (US HSE). We only increase the final report-card grades for academic subjects by one point. This makes the grade more comparable to that of an American student.
However, it is entirely up to the American university or college sports governing body to determine which grades they use in their admissions process.
In addition to the US HSE, there are other ways to accurately reflect the academic rigor of a VWO student’s educational track in their application. We routinely do this for our VWO students.
For HAVO students, on the other hand, there is nothing to ‘increase,’ and this is therefore explicitly not permitted. It is also absolutely not permitted to convert number grades into American letter grades.”
Fraud
Marina is aware that so-called “sports marketing agencies” operate in the Netherlands, promising athletic scholarships and providing very specific instructions on how American transcripts should be presented to maximize the chances of receiving a scholarship.
Unfortunately, there are cases in which these agencies put pressure on school counselors—often through the student and/or their parents—to cooperate in inflating grades, particularly final examination grades.
This constitutes fraud and can result in serious consequences for both the school counselor and the student involved:
“However much you want to help a student, at that moment you are falsifying official documents, and that constitutes fraud. In the worst-case scenario, you could lose your job and your reputation.
And for the student, it could mean losing their place at the university and, where applicable, their place on the sports team and their scholarship.”
Want to Know More?
Are you a school counselor with questions about grade conversion?
Would you like to learn more about the American education system?
Visit UStudy.world and attend one of the workshops for school counselors.
BiOND intends to organize a webinar specifically addressing issues surrounding grade conversion.
