Evaluation of foreign diplomas

[RenataAndDave 0]

Hello everybody,

I hope to get my K-1 visa in October and I would like to send my diplomas for evaluation but i'm not sure which agency to choose.Has anybody heard about evaluationservice.net ? I wrote to some four agencies and each of them except THIS particular one answered that they only accept official translations made in the usa.As I have my translations done in Poland I would like to avoid translating them again in the USA. Did anybody use this evaluationservice.net?Do you have some recommendations?

Thank you in advance.

[payxibka 10,044]

not a K-1 general discussion topic

moving thread

[Otto 83]

The whole evaluation process is kind of convoluted - the answer to your question can depend on the reason you want the education evaluated in the first place.

Example: If you want to enroll in a US University - you may want them (the institution) to either evaluate the records themselves - or they may tell you which agency they will accept evaluations from. So you would not want to have your documents evaluated by company-x and then have the university require company-y (money wasted).

What is your intention?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hello everybody,

I hope to get my K-1 visa in October and I would like to send my diplomas for evaluation but i'm not sure which agency to choose.Has anybody heard about evaluationservice.net ? I wrote to some four agencies and each of them except THIS particular one answered that they only accept official translations made in the usa.As I have my translations done in Poland I would like to avoid translating them again in the USA. Did anybody use this evaluationservice.net?Do you have some recommendations?

Thank you in advance.

I have not heard of that service. It is not on our list of accepted evaluators for the Vermont Department of Education, which means nothing really. We used "ECE" in Milwaukee WI. You can google "ECE" and get all their information. You send original and translated copies of diplomas and course transcripts and they do an evaluation and assign a US equivilent to you education. A basic evaluation is $85 and a "course by course" evaluation is $135. Most educational institutions (my wife's field of study) require a course by course evaluation as do most professional lisences, etc. It takes about 1 month to complete unless you pay extra for expedited service. They provide two official evaluations and can send more for, I think, $25 each. Many professional organizations and departments request that the evaluation be sent directly to them from ECE.

[RenataAndDave 0]

Thanks for your suggestions.I dont have a specific place I would like to apply for a job (i'm a teacher) so I cant just ask my futur employee for thier preference.I need to find an agency that would be trustful and accepted by any educational institution in NY state and as I have my translations done in POland I would like the agency that would accept THESE translations and this evaluationservice.net was the only one that said official translations made in POland are valid for evaluation.

As far as I remember ECE accept only translations done in the USA.

[movingsoon2 0]

Hi Renata,

I am a teacher too. I agree with Gary and Alla. I just had my education evaluated with ece.com. They are reliable, timely and everything went very smoothly. I got the exact equivalent of my courses.

Use ece. com. They are familiar with teachers. Just write them your email and describe your situation. They give good advice.!

Best of luck

Edited September 5, 2009 by movingsoon2

[RenataAndDave 0]

Thanks,movingsoon2.I will try but I think they dont accept translations made outside the Usa.

[C&D 0]

I would not recommend ECE for transcript evaluation from Poland. Poland is part of the Bologna process that ECE does NOT recognize.

You might want to check WES that would recognize your degrees and give you an accurate and up-to-date evaluation.

Here's the link to my experience with ECE and WES, i'm also a teacher.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=199746

[fozzie 41]

WES are very good but you will have to get original transcripts from your university sent directly to WES. It can take time depending on the country you are from.

Some Universities in the US will evaluate it themselves but it is advisable to get it done properly. My university accepts any evaluation done by an NACES accredited body, like WES, ECE etc. http://www.naces.org/members.htm

I agree with a previous poster that it depends on why you want it. If it is so that potential employers recognize your degree then a basic evaluation will suffice. If it is to gain admission to a college and possibly transfer credits then a full course by course breakdown with GPA is advisable but it will cost around $200.

[RenataAndDave 0]

Thank you for your advice and suggestions.Yes,I read about your experience with evaluating your diplomas C&D and to be honest that made me a bit worried and shocked because I cannot imagine how the same degree may be evaluated in a different way by different evaluating institutions!

Fozzie,are you sure about transcript being directly sent by university to WES?That would not be convenient. I'm almost decided as for WES ,I saw thier website and read abit and they accept translations made abroad and they even have specific instructtions for people from different countries so mine too.But this sending transcripts thing complicates everything.I didnt notice anything about it on the website..

[Meriem_DZ 37]

My husband used WES to have his diploma evaluated. You have to send a release to your university to have them send the transcript directly to WES. Our problem was that my husband's university sat on their hands for about 4 months before they sent the transcript.

This is the transcript request form you have to send to your university. http://www.wes.org/required/International_...ipt_Request.pdf

Meriem

Edited September 7, 2009 by Meriem_DZ

[fozzie 41]

Thank you for your advice and suggestions.Yes,I read about your experience with evaluating your diplomas C&D and to be honest that made me a bit worried and shocked because I cannot imagine how the same degree may be evaluated in a different way by different evaluating institutions!

Fozzie,are you sure about transcript being directly sent by university to WES?That would not be convenient. I'm almost decided as for WES ,I saw thier website and read abit and they accept translations made abroad and they even have specific instructtions for people from different countries so mine too.But this sending transcripts thing complicates everything.I didnt notice anything about it on the website..

Joseph Silny have a quick turnaround time and last time I checked they did not require originals. I would check out htis site and pick the one that fits your situation the best.

www.naces.org

[C&D 0]

Thank you for your advice and suggestions.Yes,I read about your experience with evaluating your diplomas C&D and to be honest that made me a bit worried and shocked because I cannot imagine how the same degree may be evaluated in a different way by different evaluating institutions!

Well ECE has a diploma equivalency pattern from 1994 to evaluate diplomas from France. This organization doesn't recognize the educational reforms that happened in Europe in 2004. WES does so i was able to get an accurate and up to date evaluation, especially for my master's degree.

I understand that requesting transcripts to be sent directly to WES is a PAIN ("To be sent directly to WES by the institutions attended in an envelope bearing the institution's seal or stamp and/or an appropriate signature across the sealed flap".) but in my case it was totally worth the wait and the extra work/time and money.

With WES you can translate the documents yourself (word for word translation).

I wouldn't recommend Joseph Silny for Polish documents especially for the evaluation of master's degrees, as they do NOT recognize the Bologna Process

Good Luck!!

[skynaut 29]

Hi, could someone suggest how to request transcripts to be sent directly to WES? Should i print our that form and just take it to my university? What if they have no idea what WES is? LOL

[C&D 0]

Hi, could someone suggest how to request transcripts to be sent directly to WES? Should i print our that form and just take it to my university? What if they have no idea what WES is? LOL

Yes, you have to contact your university yourself and give them instructions.

Good Luck!