Can you share a screenshot of the grading scale used by universities, as some have different grading systems in Germany/France?
I cannot send an actual screenshot, but here is the data: Germany grades 1.0 (best) to 5.0, with 4.0 as the minimum pass. France grades 0 to 20, with 10 as the pass minimum and scores above 16 considered rare. Both map onto the European ECTS scale.
I cannot send you a literal screenshot, but the two grading systems are simple enough to lay out clearly in text. That is often more useful than an image anyway, since you can reference the exact numbers when converting your own transcript. Both scales are set out below with their pass marks and honor bands.
Germany: 1.0 to 5.0 Scale
| Grade Range | German Term | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 to 1.5 | Sehr Gut | Excellent / Very Good |
| 1.6 to 2.5 | Gut | Good |
| 2.6 to 3.5 | Befriedigend | Satisfactory |
| 3.6 to 4.0 | Ausreichend | Sufficient (Pass) |
| 4.1 to 5.0 | Nicht bestanden | Insufficient / Fail |
France: 0 to 20 Scale
- 16.0 to 20.0 (Tres Bien): Very Good, the highest honors, and genuinely rare to achieve.
- 14.0 to 15.9 (Bien): Good, high honors.
- 12.0 to 13.9 (Assez Bien): Quite good, honors level.
- 10.0 to 11.9 (Passable): Pass, satisfactory and the minimum needed to clear a course.
- Below 10.0 (Ajourne): Failed.
- For cross-border comparison, both systems map onto the European ECTS scale from A (top 10 percent of passing students) down to E (final 10 percent, minimum pass) and FX/F for fail.
My Advice
Do not panic if your home-country GPA looks low on paper next to a German 1.0 to 5.0 scale, since German universities apply a standard Modified Bavarian Formula to convert international grades. Run your actual transcript scores through the Modified Bavarian Formula, or ask the university's admissions office directly, to see roughly where they would land on either scale.
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