What is NACES?

If you studied at a school or college outside of the U.S. and want to then study at an American college or university, you may be asked to get an evaluation of your original transcripts from a company that is a member of NACES. You may wonder, “what is NACES?” This article will help you understand this question and why a NACES evaluation is an important part of applying to colleges in the U.S. as an international student.

NACES is an acronym for the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. It is “an association of US-based, independent, nongovernmental organizations that provide credential evaluation services for individuals who have completed education outside the United States.” As of July 2022, NACES has 20 member organizations. These organizations provide foreign credential evaluations, document verification, and translations of any academic transcripts and diplomas earned outside of the U.S. Each NACES member provides its own unique set of services at varying costs.

Most NACES members provide two basic reports: a General Analysis or document-by-document evaluation, and a Course Analysis or course-by-course evaluation. The General will usually only give the overall equivalency of a degree earned outside of the U.S., while a Course Analysis, or as many students call it “transcript translation,” will state the equivalency and include all the courses someone took with the credits and grades converted to the U.S. scale. To obtain these reports, clients are usually asked to provide their official transcripts and diplomas in the original language as well as a certified English translation of those documents. Some members, like SpanTran, will also provide translation services for an additional fee if the client does not have translations already.

As an international student choosing a NACES company, you must be aware that every company has its own policies on how they evaluate documents from other countries. They also have different costs and different requirements for how they need to receive your documents. Before applying, we recommend asking your admissions counselor if they have a particular company they would recommend. Some colleges and universities establish relationships with certain NACES companies, who then offer discounts and customized applications to their students. SpanTran has relationships with dozens of different colleges and universities in the U.S. Asking your prospective university if they have a relationship with SpanTran could save you money and the hassle of potentially getting the wrong kind of evaluation.

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