In this Article, I share examples of grade conversion charts to convert your grades to MEXT’s 3.0 GPA system, which was originally printed in the appendix of my book, How to Win the MEXT Scholarship.
Before converting your grades using the chart below, please read my article about “How to Calculate your GPA for the MEXT Scholarship“. That article explains the process and calculation details. Here, I only share the charts.
If you cannot find a match for your grading system in the examples below, and you would like me to add yours, please submit a scan of your Explanation of the Grading System (see the examples below) via the form below, and I will add it: https://mymext.com/submitgrades
Note: I do not need to see your actual grades or any personal information. Please only submit an image of the system explanation!
Grade “Buckets”
In the descriptions that follow, I use the term “grade bucket” to mean a group of grades that all have the same converted value. For example, the grades “A+”, “A”, and “A-” might be considered one grade bucket. Or the a score range of “100 – 80” might be a single grade bucket.
When you convert your grades, you will need to determine how many buckets your system has and which grades correspond to each bucket. Typically, you should have 4 or 5 buckets. Multiple grades may fit into each of those buckets, as we will show in the examples below.
In some cases, you may encounter a system with only three buckets (e.g. distinction, pass, fail), but these are quite rare. I will explain that system below as well. For systems with more than 5 apparent buckets, like ECTS grades with 6, we will squeeze them into 5, using the charts that follow.
There are a few complications you may run into in assigning your grades to different buckets are subgrades or the average marks system.
For subgrades, such as +/- or combined grades like A/B, refer to the explanation of the grading system from your university. If your grading system does not explain the subgrades, you can probably ignore the “+” and “-“, but if you want a more conservative estimate, treat “-” grades as the next lower bucket.
Note: Grades followed by a 0, such as A0, B0, etc., are not subgrades. Treat them as being the same as an A or B, respectively.
Grading System Conversions
Letter Grade Systems
Letter grade systems, typically A through E or F, are common in many countries, including the US, most of Europe (ECTS), many universities in East and Southeast Asia, and of course, Japan. However, there are several different ways of interpreting the relative value of these grades. Typically, Japanese universities will interpret the grades according to their own understanding, unless you have a grading scale to show them otherwise.
Letter grades can have pluses (e.g. A+), minuses (e.g. A-), zeroes (e.g. A0), or combined letters (e.g. A/B), which complicate the interpretation. I will include as many examples as possible below.
MEXT offers two official examples of how to convert letter grades to its 3.0 scale: A 4-bucket system and a 5-bucket system.
Letter Grades: 4 Letters (ABCF), Official
| Grading System: ABCF (Official) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A | B | C | F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Example from official MEXT guidelines, Taiwan (Grad School), Pakistan (Grad School) | ||||
This is the official example from MEXT, but I have only ever seen it used for graduate programs. For graduate programs, a “C” is typically considered the minimum passing grade and expectations are higher in general.
Leniency for Grad School Conversions?
For graduate school, you could also make the argument that an ABCF scale should be considered to be the same as an ABCDF scale (as shown below) where there is just no “D” (or “1” on the MEXT system) possible. If you compare the undergraduate and graduate grading scales in the example below, you’ll see the GPA equivalents for A, B, and C are the same as the corresponding undergrad grades. It might be worth giving it a shot!
Here is an example of a grading system showing this scale, for graduate school grades.
Of course, citizens of Taiwan are not eligible to apply for the MEXT scholarship, but international students who graduate from Taiwanese universities would be eligible.
Letter Grades: 4 Letters (ABCF), with Quality Variation
This is a variation on the 4-letter system that has plusses and minuses. In most cases, you should ignore the plus or minus and consider the grade to be same as the plain letter, but in the case below, the quality descriptions place “B+” in a higher category.
| Grading System: ABCF (With +/- and Quality Variation) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A+, A, A-, B+ | B, B- | C+, C | F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: India | ||||
Here is the grading system example that resulted in the chart above:
Letter Grades: 5 Letters (ABCDF, etc.), Official
MEXT offers two official 5-bucket letter grade conversion scales, but I have never seen the first one used:
| Grading System: Official: SABCF | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | S | A | B | C | F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Example from official MEXT guidelines | |||||
The one I do see more commonly is:
| Grading System: Official: ABCDF | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A | B | C | D | F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Example from official MEXT guidelines, Taiwan | |||||
Most often, you will see this system with pluses and minuses, as in the example below.
Letter Grades: 5 Letters, with Plus/Minus
The rest of the letter grade conversion tables are not official. These are based on examples and methods that I have personally used, but in some places they may be up for interpretation.
Five letter systems with pluses and minuses are, by far, the most common system I see. There are several different variations on the system. Some universities may use only pluses and no minuses. Some may specify a non-plus/minus grade with a zero (such as “A0”) to make it impossible to forge into a plus later. Some may use “E” for a failing grade and some may use “F”.
I will list all of the most common variants in the table below, but keep in mind that not all of the grades listed in each bucket may apply to you, as you will be able to see from the example images below. That is not a problem.
There are a few important exceptions to this chart, regarding minuses, that we will cover below.
| Grading System: ABCDF (with +/-) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A+, A, A- | B+, B, B- | C+, C, C- | D+, D, D- | E or F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, USA | |||||
Examples:
Letter Grades: 5 Letters, with Plus/Minus – Variations
I mentioned above that there are some exceptions to the chart above. The most dangerous one is grading systems that specify that a minus grade should be considered to be grouped with the next lower letter grade. As you can imagine, this can have a significant effect on your overall GPA calculation.
Heres’ what the conversion chart would look like:
| Grading System: ABCDF (drop -) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A+, A | A-, B+, B | B-, C+, C | C-, D+, D | F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Morocco | |||||
And here’s an example of they grading system explanation that would result in the chart above:
It is also possible that only some minuses would be dropped, like the example below, where a C- is dropped to be a failing grade.
| Grading System: Malaya Grades | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A+ | A, A- | B+, B, B- | C+, C | C-, D+, D, F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Malaysia | |||||
Finally, in some cases, instead of a “+” or “-“, the university may combine both letters, as in the case below:
| Grading System: ABCDE (with “AB”) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A | AB, B | BC, C | D | E |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Indonesia | |||||
Letter Grades: 3 or 4 Letters, with Plus/Minus
While not as common as 5-letter grading systems, you may find some 4-letter grading systems with pluses and minuses, which would be evaluated as below:
| Grading System: ABCDEF with Specified Pass Cut-Off | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A+, A, A- | B+, B, B- | C+, C, C- | D, E, F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: New Zealand, Taiwan | ||||
Example:
Letter Grades: ECTS
ECTS, the common standard in Europe, is a 6-bucket system and, in general grades earned under the ECTS system are “harsher” than those under the US or Japanese systems. For example, World Education Services (WES), an internationally recognized company that maintains conversion tables from almost all countries’ systems to the US 4.0 system, converts an ECTS “C” to an American “B” for GPA purposes (3.0 out of 4.0 in the US, which is 3.0 out of 3.0 on the MEXT Scale).
If you are a European applying via the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, you do not need to worry, since all other applicants will have been graded on the same system and the embassy should be familiar with it.
However, if you completed your degree at a European university but are applying for Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship in another country, or if you are applying for University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, the reviewers might not realize that ECTS grades are stricter than other countries’ letter grades. In that case, it might be in your interest to include an official chart from your university that shows the equivalency between ECTS and US letter grades, for example. Ask your university’s study abroad or admissions office if they have something like that you can reference! If your grading system also has quality descriptions, as in the first example below, that would work fine, too.
Here are two ways to interpret ECTS letter grades. The first is how I would do it, based on my experience working with hundreds of students from across Europe. The second, strict, model is how someone who did not understand ECTS might interpret your grades. If you want to be strict on yourself, for the sake of making sure that you meet the eligibility criteria, use the second scale. Remember, your conversion is not official, anyway, so you can not hurt yourself be being harsh.
ECTS Scale 1:
| Grading System: ECTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A, B | C | D | E | Fx, F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Europe | |||||
ECTS Scale 2 (Strict):
| Grading System: ECTS (Strict) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | A | B | C | D, E | Fx, F |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Europe | |||||
Examples:
Both grading systems above clearly show that “E” is a passing grade, and “D” is “fair” or “satisfactory”, which is the same definition given to a C grade in the examples further above, so “E” should be the only 1-point value and “D” should be 2. The real question is how to treat “C”. In these examples, “C” is “Good”, as opposed to its meaning of “Average” in the US system. Therefore, it should be considered to be equivalent to a US “B” (also good) and scored at 3 points on the MEXT scale.
Percentage Scales
Like letter grades, the meaning of percentages can vary significantly from country to country. There seem to be two major philosophical outlooks on what the percentage should mean.
In countries like the US and Japan, where you tend to see high grades, the score seems to indicate what percentage of the mastery or performance expected of a student in the course you have achieved. In this system, students should be aiming for 100%.
In Europe, the UK, and countries with marks systems, the score seems to indicate instead what percentage of mastery of the subject you have achieved. In that case, even the professor might not earn 100% and for a student, earning 70% would be outstanding.
Think about your own system and the normative scores there as you read through the systems and charts below.
Percentage Grades: 4 Buckets, Official
| Grading System: Official: Percentage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 100 – 80 | 79 – 70 | 69 – 60 | 59 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Example from official MEXT guidelines, Taiwan | ||||
Percentage Grades: 5 Buckets, Official
MEXT’s official standard for converting 5 percentage score buckets is based on how percentages are assigned in Japan, where 100% is achievable for students.
| Grading System: Official: Percentage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 100 – 80 | 79 – 70 | 69 – 60 | 59 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Example from official MEXT guidelines, Taiwan | ||||
The example image I used for the 4-bucket system above would be a 5-range scale for undergraduates. Here is another example of what that score system might look like.
Percentage Grades: 5 Buckets, Variations
Some universities have a more “lenient” percentage scale. Although, any apparent leniency in the system is usually a reflection of how much more difficult it is to earn the corresponding grades.
| Grading System: Canada Percentage | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 100 – 80 | 79 – 70 | 69 – 60 | 59 – 50 | 49 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Canada | |||||
In some universities, you will find grading systems with percentage buckets, but different cut-offs, as below. In this case, use the cut-off specified in your university’s grading system!
Here is one example from the Philippines:
| Grading System: Philippines Percentage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 100 – 92 | 91 – 83 | 82 – 75 | 74 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Philippines | ||||
Descriptive Grades
I have found descriptive grades to be common in Commonwealth countries. In this system, the grades are stratified by a description of their quality, not immediately obvious letter or number scales. Probably the best well-known is the Honours system used in the UK, though others exist.
Descriptive Grades: 4 Buckets, Official
The system below will look familiar to you if you have completed the MEXT scholarship application form, particularly the part where you have to rate your language ability.
| Grading System: Official: Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 優 (Excellent) | 良 (Good) | 可 (pass) | 不可 (Fail) |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Example from official MEXT guidelines | ||||
While this is an official conversion scale, I have never seen a university that uses it.
MEXT does not offer an official conversion scale for 5-bucket descriptive grades. However, in practice, every descriptive system I have seen had 5 buckets. Those systems would be converted just like any other 5-bucket system.
Descriptive Grades: 5-Bucket Honours
I believe all Honours grades should be converted on a 5-bucket scale. The scale below, from a UK university, shows how this could be done.
| Grading System: Honours System (with third) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | First Class | Upper Second | Lower Second | Third | Fail |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: UK | |||||
In Honours systems, you usually do not get an “Honours” mark for each individual course, so when converting your grades, convert each course based on how your score in that individual course would correspond to the honours ranking if that was your overall grade for your degree. For example, in the scale above, from the University of Aberdeen, students grades in each course are indicated using the marks shown in the CGS column. So, if you received a B3 in a particular course, that corresponds to an Upper Second, and so it would be a “3” on the MEXT Scale.
Another way to think of this system is that we are using the Honours titles (First Class, Upper Second, etc.) in place of the quality description (Outstanding, Good, etc.) as a frame of reference. Yes, the scale above also includes quality descriptions, but not all will!
The trouble with Honours systems is that sometimes they do not include a “Third Class” bucket. In that case, reviewers who are not familiar with the system may consider a “Lower Second” to be the minimum passing grade (i.e. “1” on the MEXT Scale), making “Upper Second” a “2”. It would be almost impossible to achieve the minimum 2.3 grade in that situation.
Descriptive Grades: Distinction
Another descriptive grading system is the Distinction system used by some universities in Australia and New Zealand. The first time I reviewed a transcript on this system, I was shocked to see that the student had earned all “C” and “D” grades. At first glance, I thought there was no way this student could be eligible, until I saw what those letters meant!
| Grading System: Distinction Marking | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | HD (High Distinction), 100 – 80 | D (Distinction), 79 – 70 | C (Credit), 69 – 60 | P (Pass), 59 – 50 | N (Fail) 49 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Australia | |||||
Descriptive Grades: 3 Buckets
One applicant sent me a copy of a 3-bucket descriptive grading system. These grades were from an open university, where faculty would not have much time to focus on individual students. Most students simply get a “satisfactory”, or passing, grade in each course if they do the work. Unfortunately, since that is the lowest possible passing grade, it could get converted to a 1 on the MEXT scale. Personally, I would consider it to be a “2”, since “Satisfactory” as a quality description is consistent with the description of grades in other systems that count as “2”s. But even as a “2”, this would make it essentially impossible to meet the MEXT eligibility requirements.
If your only degree program is in an open university or other university that similarly does not give much time or care to grading students, you will face significant difficulty in the application. If you are taking an open university degree program alongside a regular university’s degree program, then it may serve your interests to withdraw from or suspend your open university courses during the application period, and report that you only intend to complete your regular university degree, so that only the regular university degree will count for the GPA calculation.
| Grading System: 3-Bucket Descriptive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | Honor | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Used in: Open universities | |||
Numerical Grading Scales and GPA
While MEXT’s 3.0 GPA system is not actually used anywhere in the world that I am aware of, I have seen a number of other GPA systems or numerical grading scales.
The most common GPA scale is the 4.0 scale. I have also seen 4.3, common in Korea, 4.5 in some universities in Canada, 5.0 in Singapore and many others. However, in each of the examples above, the universities in question also had letter grades or percentage grades listed, so it was easier to convert the grades using that information. If your university has multiple grading scales including a numerical grading system and another, such as letters or percentages, I recommend that you use the letter of percentage grades to perform your conversion. Your reviewers are also likely to choose the system that they are more familiar with. Most of the examples below include multiple systems.
In this section, I will focus on universities that use numbers as their grades, to show the variety of systems. Unless you find an exact match for your grading system below, you should not assume that numbers mean the same thing in your country, but I hope this section will give you an idea of what to look for when trying to figure out how to convert number systems.
Numerical: 4-Point Inverted Scale
While a 4.0 GPA system with 4 being the best score is relatively common around the world, there are some systems where 1 is the best score, as shown below.
| Grading System: 1 (best) – 4 (worst) Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 1 | 1,5 – 2 | 2,5 | 3 | 4 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Czech Republic (also uses ECTS) | |||||
Numerical: 5-Point Scale
The Finnish example below uses a 5-point scale but has no numerical grade designated for failure, so all grades shown in numbers will have at least some value.
| Grading System: 5-Point Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 5 | 4 – 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Finland | |||||
Numerical: 5-Point Inverted Scale
We used this scale earlier to highlight a different approach to percentages, but it also contains a number system. As with the percentage, The quality descriptor is the key factor for the conversion. Unlike the system above, in this case, “1” is the highest grade and “5” is a fail.
| Grading System: Philippines 5 point system | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 1.0 – 1.5 | 1.75 – 2 | 2.25 – 2.5 | 2.75 – 3.0 | 4.0 – 5.0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Philippines | |||||
Numerical: Danish “7”-Point Scale
I have heard this scale called a seven-point scale by my colleagues in Denmark, despite the fact that the grades range from a high of 12 to a low of -3, since there are only 7 discrete grades that can be earned.
If you are in Denmark, then the range of grades may matter for calculating averages, but remember that for MEXT, we never take the average. We always convert grade-by-grade.
| Grading System: Danish 7-point Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 12 – 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 – -3 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Denmark (Also uses ECTS) | |||||
Numerical/GPA: Vietnamese 10-Point GPA
Vietnamese universities grade on a 10-point GPA scale, though some also use letter grades. Although the system is referred to as a GPA scale, students are actually assigned a grade on the 10-point scale for each class. It is those individual course grades, not the overall average, that must be converted.
| Grading System: 10.0 GPA Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 10.0 – 8.5 | 8.4 – 7.0 | 6.9 – 5.5 | 5.4 – 4.0 | 3.9 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Vietnam | |||||
Numerical: 12-Point Scale
The university in the example below also shows the letter grade conversion, but course grades on the actual transcript may be shown by numerical value, only.
| Grading System: Canada 12-point Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 12 – 10 | 9 – 7 | 6 – 4 | 3 – 1 | 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Canada | |||||
Numerical: French 20-Point Scale
Grading in France is particularly severe.
My colleagues there tell me that it is because everyone who passes that high school leaving exam has the right to go to higher education in public universities. There is no competition to get in to universities. So, the only way they can reduce their student numbers and get rid of the students who have no particular interest or aptitude is by failing them out. It is an achievement just to pass and remain enrolled, and the grading scale below reflects that.
| Grading System: French 20-point Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 20 – 16 | 15 – 12 | 11 | 10 – 9 | 8 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: France | |||||
Numerical: Italian 30-Point Scale
The Italian system also has a wide range of grades, but most of the passing grades are concentrated at the top. I have seen many cases where universities did not provide any conversion guidance with their own transcripts, but here is a guide that should work.
| Grading System: Italian 30-point Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Grade | 30 lode – 29 | 28 – 25 | 24 – 21 | 20 – 18 | 17 – 0 |
| MEXT Grade | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Used in: Italy | |||||
Final thoughts
Remember, the tables above correspond to the images. In most cases, the examples I have provided are consistent within the countries listed, to the best of my knowledge, but if the explanation of the grading system that your university provides is different from what the images above show, then always prioritize the documentation from your university.
Have a system I haven’t covered above?
If your grading system isn’t covered by any of the examples above, submit a scan of the grading system to me via the form below and I will add it to the article above.
https://mymext.com/submitgrades
Note: Since this form includes a file upload option, you must have a google account to use it.
Hello Travis, first of all I would like to thank you for all your blogs and for the books, they have been a great help. Now to my question regarding the GPA conversion. I study at European university which uses the standard ECTS (Czech Republic which you also mentioned in this post, 1-4 while 1 being the best). For the section regarding the ECTS you provided two ways to convert to GPA (second one being the strict one). If I convert my grades using the strict form it comes to just about 2.31, while using the other one you mentioned where A,B,C = 3 points; D = 2 points and E = 1 point; if I use this one it comes to about 2.65. So I am wondering which is the right one and which will they use for the embassy recommendation, because 2.31 GPA isnt the best going for the MEXT while I am in the top 10% of my year. In my opinion my university is a bit strict when it comes to grading with the average grades being around D or E, for perspective. So if you could help me to understand which one is the right one it would be greatly appreciated. Hope this comment will find you well and Thank you in advance.
Hi Samuel,
Thank you for your kind feedback.
Based on my experience, I think the less strict (ABC=3) conversion is the accurate approach, but there is no official standardization, so it can be up to individual discretion.
However, I think this is more of a concern for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, since in that application, they are comparing scores from different countries and my not be as familiar with the ECTS system. For the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, the embassy should be much more familiar with the systems in your country, and even with the relative strictness of grading, since they have more specific experience with applicants there.
Ultimately, if all of the applicants have ECTS grades and all are being converted the same way, the evaluation should be fair and consistent, no matter which system they use.
Good Luck!
– Travis
Thank you for the reply and clarification.
Does the GPA alone have a lot of weight during the application or do they take your major and the student ranking in the school into account also for the embassy recommendation ?
Hi Samuel,
The 2.30 minimum GPA standard does not account for school or major, but beyond that, the reviewers are human and they will likely take those kinds of things into account when ranking applicants. There is no official standard for it, though, and they may have certain priority academic fields as well, so there can be many factors involved that we can’t see from the outside.
Good Luck!
– Travis
I see. Thank you for the information and have a great rest of the day.
Dear Travis,
Your previous explanation put a lot into perspective for me.
Unfortunately I have obtained a document from my university where relation to ECTS is mentioned, and it has confused me with regard to my standing vis a vis grades.
[Deleted]
This is the document with grades, credits and then the part about ECTS.
I know it may be a lot to ask but I wondered if you had any insight as to what this could mean.
Hi Mattia,
I have removed the link you shared in this comment so as not to expose your grades to the world, but I reviewed the file first.
ECTS grades are intended to be relative, not absolute, and are based on the percentage of students who obtain the corresponding absolute grade over a certain period of time. An “A” grade in ECTS is based on whatever range of grades were earned by the top 10% of students. Within Europe, this helps balance out the relative strictness of grading between universities. For example, at a university that grades harder, the top 10% of students might only earn a 28. But at a university with a more relaxed standard, the top 10% might all earn a 30 cum laude.
Based on the document you shared, it looks like grades tend to be quite high at your institution. The ECTS grades reflect that, with a C being 28 or higher (which means that roughly 65% of students earn a 28 or higher grade–58%, according to the table).
Normally, I would say that the grade conversion would be based on the ECTS grades shown there, but the document did say “Old ECTS System” with an asterisk, so they may ignore it and use the absolute grades like the example in the article, instead. It’s really going to be up to the reviewers to determine.
(For what it’s worth, I found a link to a 2014 document showing a completely different ECTS conversion for NABA), so it seems that it may have changed over time).
Given that the ECTS reference is “Old”, I think they would use the absolute grades, but I cannot say for certain.
Good Luck!
– Travis
Dear Travis,
Thank you for the explanation. I see, lets hope they use the general table.
They did ask for a conversion table so I might have to send the document you saw through.
If there is anything you think I could do to increase my likelihood of success I am open to it.
In any other case let’s just hope. Thank you again for your continued help.
Dear Travis,
I am an Italian student applying for the University Track of MEXT through a specific university, with a deadline of January 16th as given by my supervisor.
The application requires a letter of recommendation. The guidelines specify that if my grades cannot be converted to the MEXT GPA system, the Dean of my previous uni must instead confirm I rank within the top 30% of my department or university. The exact quote is:
“If your grade point can’t be calculated in accordance with a method designated by the MEXT due to the grading system of your university, your letter of recommendation must express that your grades are within the top 30% of your university, graduate school, or department.”
I consulted your guide on converting Italian grades but found conflicting interpretations of the grade ranges. Using your example yields a GPA of about 2.7, but if a score range of 28-25 is treated as a B (2 points), for instance, my result is lower and less competitive.
I am unsure how to proceed. I would like to know whether I should attempt my own conversion taking your conversion as valid and attach it to the application form, submit my transcript alone for MEXT to convert, work with my Dean to secure a top 30% confirmation (though I’m not certain I qualify) or seek official conversion guidance from either my previous university or the Japanese university. I am confused and would value your advice.
The university is also requesting a Field of Study and Study Plan document. It asks for, verbatim:
２ Your research topic in Japan: Describe articulately the research you wish to carry out in Japan.
３ Study program in Japan: (Describe in detail and with specifics – particularly concerning the ultimate goal(s) of your research in Japan)
Am I correct in thinking these are this university’s equivalent to what is referred to in the Embassy “Field of Study and Research Plan” document as (2) Research Theme and (3) Research Plan? Or might they be asking for something different?
I apologize for the length of the question, and thank you for your help.
Kind regards,
-Mattia
Hi Mattia,
The condition about grades not being able to convert to the MEXT system refers to cases where applicants’ home universities do not provide any grades, letter, numerical, or otherwise. There are universities that do not provide grades and instead write a report on what the university has determined the applicant to be capable of. I also know of some universities (primarily medical schools) that only provide pass/fail grades, which could not be converted. Since you have grades on your 30-point scale, the “top 30% exception” would not apply in your case.
I do not recommend submitting your own grade conversion. You should submit your transcript with an official explanation of the grading system from the university. In some cases, that is included in the transcript, but in others, it might be a separate document. If your university had documentation comparing your numerical grades to the ECTS scale, for example, that would be perfect.
There are very few systems where a “B” grade converts to a “2”. It would only be in cases where there were only A, B, C, and F grades. (In that case, a “B” is average, and a “C” is the minimum passing grade. Since your system has a much more detailed range, that should never be the case. In fact, for the ECTS system, for example, even a “C” converts to a “3” in most cases.
It doesn’t sound like you have anything to worry about with your grades.
For the research proposal, I think your understanding is correct. Those questions match 2 and 3 from the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship Field of Study and Research Program Plan. (They may ask you to move your answer to that format and add question 1 later on, once they select you for nomination to MEXT.)
Good Luck!
– Travis
Thank you for your swift and helpful response Travis, I will use it to go forward with the application procedure.
Kind regards and a happy new year!
-Mattia
Hey g thank you for your breakdown. I study in spbu in russia and we have a specific grading scale. on one hand, its ECTS with A, B, C, D, E, F. on the other hand A = excellent, B/C = good, D/E = satisfactory and F = fail, so by logic it should be 3 for A, 2 for B/C, 1 for D/E and 0 for F. But the conversion of this system that you put here seems very light and kind of crazy. 3 for C and 2 for D seems hard to believe. Could you please take a look and share your thoughts? https://pomor.spbu.ru/en/study/grading-system.html
They also put percentile scale which is different from widely accepted.
WES says my GPA using system from my university is 3.26/4.0, which should be fine, but I still have second thoughts.
Would be grateful really for your comment.
Hi Rembo,
I stand by the ECTS grades conversion in the article. That is the system I have used as a university employee to convert grades to the 3.0 system in order to determine students’ eligibility for scholarships at my university.
ECTS letter grades are much stricter than US or Japanese letter grades and it is widely accepted, for example, that a ECTS “C” is equal to a US “B”. The “lightness” of the conversion reflects the relative difficulty of earning those grades in their respective systems. The difficulty of earning a particular grade (and, correspondingly, the ratio of students who can earn that grade) can vary widely from country to country, so that’s why it isn’t a good idea to consider percentages or letter grades to automatically be equivalent across systems.
Good Luck!
– Travis
after converting my grade i got B in us grading system which is 2/3 my GPA after conversion in 3.0/4.0 do i have a chance
Hi Lamis,
You need to convert all of your grades one-by-one and then average the converted grade. Converting your overall average can result in an inaccurate number.
A “B” grade in the US system should not be a 2.0/3.0 on the MEXT Scale! In most cases, it should be a 3.0/3.0, so you might want to check your calculations again.
A higher grade is better, but your “chances” depend on so many other factors, including your competition and, depending on what you’re applying for (since you didn’t mention it), your Field of Study and Research Program Plan.
Good Luck!
– Travis
Hi Travis,
My GPA is 2.46 out of 4.00, which is equivalent to 81.8% in percentage. When I converted it to the MEXT scale, it came out to 2.32.
Do you think I should go ahead and apply for the MEXT scholarship?
Hi Arko,
If you’re confident that you converted your GPA correctly and it is above 2.3/3.0, then you should be eligible. I don’t know what your local system is, but I find it surprising that a 2.46/4.00 would convert to an eligible GPA, so you might want to double-check your math. In most 4.0 systems that I am aware of, that would be a C to C+ range grade average. Of course, you cannot convert averages, you have to convert each grade individually, so there might be something I’m missing.
Since your converted GPA is on the lower end of eligibility, it might be a challenge to compete, but you can still try.
Good Luck!
– Travis
Thank you so much for the detailed breakdown!
I calculated my masters from France, and for a 2.28 average. This is below the 2.30/3.00. Should I even bother applying?
Best regards
Faidat.
Hi Faidat,
How confident are you about your grade conversion? Grades translating to 2.28 on MEXT’s scale would be quite low (as in barely passing level), especially for a Master’s degree.
If you barely scraped by in your Master’s degree (i.e. you were at risk of failing) and are sure that your grade conversion is accurate, then it sounds like you would not be qualified. However, it is very common for applicants to misinterpret the grading scale and grade themselves too harshly. So, if you think there is a chance that you may have been too harsh, then you can give it a shot!
Good Luck!
– Travis
Hello Travis,
Thank you for your response.
I achieved a 16.70/20 average, with mostly As and Bs, except for two courses with 2 ECTS credits where I received Es. So my calculation might have been incorrect.
I sent in my application already, that wouldn’t have been possible without all your helpful tips, so thank you so much for that.
My only concern now is that I am applying through my home country’s embassy (Nigeria). However, I have sent in my French Master’s Transcript as is, without an official conversion table, and it doesn’t explicitly say the grading scale applied (i.e out of 20). Would that disqualify my application?
Hi Faidat,
French grading is pretty strict in my experience, so that sounds like an excellent average. Of course, you have to convert grades one-by-one, not the average, but since a 16.7 would be well within the “3” range, I would be surprised if the individual grades converted much lower, even with the Es.
I’m not sure how they will handle the missing grading system in the processing. At my university when I handled applications, we would have told you it was missing and required you to resubmit it (it was very common for applicants to be missing this at the time, or not understand what it meant, so we were used to asking for it), but I don’t know if the embassy will do the same or will handle it in another way. It’s really up to their discretion. I hope they give you a chance!
Good Luck!
– Travis
Hello, Travis,
Thank you very much for your informative blog! I truly appreciate the effort you’ve put into it—it has been incredibly helpful for me.
I have a question regarding GPA in relation to the MEXT scholarship application. Currently, I am pursuing a master’s degree in management, and I plan to apply for the MEXT scholarship in spring 2025. My goal is to pursue a second master’s degree in Japan after receiving the scholarship.
My academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and intercultural communication, where my research focused on topics combining business and intercultural communication. I graduated with a perfect GPA of 3.0 out of 3.0. However, my current master’s GPA is not as strong—I have received some D grades.
Given this situation, I am wondering if it would be possible to apply using only my bachelor’s degree and indicate on the application that I am currently completing a master’s program. I would like to highlight that I participated in an exchange program during the first year of my master’s at the University of Tokyo and want to include this in my application. However, I am hesitant to apply using my master’s degree because of my lower GPA.
Could you please advise on whether this approach is acceptable and how I might best present my situation in the application?
Thank you very much for your time and assistance!
Hi Tashi,
Thank you for your kind words!
Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose whether to use your current Master’s degree or not. MEXT requires that you list all current and past degrees in your application and include the applicable records from each. You cannot choose to leave one out and if you try to hide it, that would be considered lying on the application and would get you disqualified if it was discovered.
I’m not sure if it is even possible before the application period starts, but the only option I can see is to do everything you can to earn higher grades throughout the rest of your current Master’s in order to raise your converted GPA.
Good Luck!
– Travis
Thank you Travis
But still how do I give it to admission officer? If I say to them “My grade system is ECTS and it is much stricter than any other system so I counted all the B and C as 3, D as 2, E as 1 and the result shows that my score is eligible” this will sound like a fluff and they will ask to provide official grade explanation by the university. They will then go to the website, see the excellent/good/satisfactory system that is super relative, but I think what would really catch their eyes is percentage scales, because its quite universal and can transfer across many different systems more precisely than just “excellent/good/satisfactory”. And according to percentage scales, my grades and MEXT GPA are ****. Thats what I am afraid of. How should I position my grading when making application?
Hi Rembo,
You give them your transcript and the explanation of the grading system, only. You don’t tell them how to convert it. They will do that based on the system that you have provided. I do not recommend that you try to tell them how to evaluate your grades. I do not think that would come across well. They will want to make their own decision based on the official system.
Since the ECTS system is an internationally known and standardized system, I suspect they will use that as a reference, but it may depend on how the grades are listed on the transcript, itself.
Percentages are not universal at all (the cut-offs and expected percentages can be very different from country to country), so they would only use that as one factor.
Good Luck!
– Travis