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Convert US grades to German

From US (0–4.0 GPA) to German (1.0–5.0). Instant, free, calculated in your browser.

US students applying to German universities translate their 4.0 GPA into the 1.0–5.0 Notensystem (lower is better).

1.3
Normalized (0–1)0.93

How the US → German conversion works

Every MyCollab conversion runs through a single 0–1 normalized score so the math stays consistent across all nine systems.

On the US 4.0 GPA scale, the normalized score is gpa ÷ 4.0, so 4.0 maps to 1.0 and 1.0 to 0.25.

To express the normalized score on the German 1.0–5.0 scale, MyCollab applies the inverted mapping 5.0 − (norm × 4.0).

Worked example: a 3.7 on the US (0–4.0 GPA) scale normalizes to 0.93. On the German (1.0–5.0) scale, 0.93 corresponds to 1.3 (Sehr Gut (1.0–1.5)).

Worked example

3.7 (US)  →  1.3 (German)

Normalized score: 0.93 · Sehr Gut (1.0–1.5)

Common questions

Is this conversion accepted by German universities?+
MyCollab's conversion follows the same normalized-score approach used by services like WES, ECCTIS (UK NARIC), and Uni-Assist. Individual universities make their own final decisions, but a MyCollab conversion gives you a defensible reference point when you discuss your transcript with admissions or with a credential evaluator. Always check the target university's published admissions guidance for any institution-specific adjustments.
Do graduate programmes use a different German scale?+
Some graduate programmes apply stricter thresholds: for example, US graduate schools often expect a normalized score above 0.75 (≈ B+ / 3.3), and German master's programmes often want a 2.5 or better. MyCollab gives you the underlying conversion; programme-specific thresholds are on each university's admissions page. The /sop-checklist tool surfaces typical thresholds per country.
What about pass/fail or untranslated courses?+
Pass/fail courses on a US transcript usually do not carry a numeric grade and therefore do not participate in the GPA conversion. Most credential evaluators exclude them from the GPA calculation but still list them on the official transcript. Leave them out of the MyCollab calculator unless your target programme has a published rule for converting them.
How is the US-to-German conversion calculated?+
MyCollab normalizes the US grade onto a 0–1 scale (0.0–4.0 GPA with 1.0 to pass), then projects that score onto the German scale (1.0 (best) to 5.0 (fail); 4.0 is the minimum pass). The result is always grounded in the official published ranges — no opaque weighting, no proprietary curves. The math is explained in plain language above and exposed in the /my-grades tool.

See also

Reverse conversionGerman → USRelated conversionUS → ItalianRelated conversionUS → UKRelated conversionUS → ECTS
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