Getting college credit for A-Levels and their equivalents

Getting college credit for A-Levels and their equivalents

For UK students in the US, it is sometimes possible for you to get credits for your A-Level (or equivalent level qualification) work. You may also be able to get some pre-requisite classes waived depending on which subjects you took. Below are some steps you need to take to see if this is a possibility for you and what to do if this is the case:
  1. Visit your academic advisor and ask if they accept A-Levels (or the equivalent level qualification you took) and give college credit for them. Explain that SpanTran (TEC) and InCred evaluates these level qualifications into college credits.
  2. If your certificates have been released: you must take either your physical or a clear scan (not photos) of your certificates, (not the grade report sheet from results day) with you. Genius Scan is a free app you can use to take colour PDF scans. 
  3. If you only have your grade report sheet from results day as your certificates have yet to be released: take either the physical sheet or a clear scan of this with you for now. Explain this is all you have for now and your official certificates will be with you later in the fall. Note, to get an evaluation completed, you can only do this with official certificates.
  4. Some schools will not offer credits or waive any classes. Unfortunately, that is their policy and there is nothing you, or we, can do to change this. There is also the possibility that the subjects you took will not be transferrable onto your college transcript.
  5. If they do offer credit, they will either be able to evaluate your transcripts themselves or they will ask you to use a grade evaluation service such as SpanTran (TEC) or InCred. These evaluation services charge a fee, but the money you save in tuition from getting credits approved could likely be worth more than the cost of the evaluation. Make sure to ask which service they accept and which one they would like you to complete! 
Warning
You need to ensure you ask your advisor that the subjects you took in high school will transfer onto your college transcript and they will be able to apply the credits before you pay for any evaluation service!
Alert
You need to consider if taking this approach is the right route for you. For example, BTEC/NCFE Pass level marks and A-Level Ds and Es will likely convert to C grades, so if you are currently averaging B grades and above in college and received mostly passes/D's/E's this could pull your current college GPA down. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide individualised advice on this so we encourage you to please carefully consider your GPA!

If you need an InCred or SpanTran (TEC) evaluation:
If you are at an NAIA school, it is likely you had to get an InCred evaluation during the admissions process, if you have had an InCred evaluation before and your school accepts these, you should follow the guide below to get an InCred update. If you have not had an InCred evaluation before, and you have been told your school accepts TEC, follow the guide for a TEC evaluation. 

If you had a TEC (SpanTran) evaluation during your admissions process, you will need to pay for a new one on your A-Level certificates. 
Information for all
Before you submit either type of evaluation, you need to get your certificates stamped and signed by your school. You can only use your transcripts, the grade report sheet you got on results day will not be accepted. This may be difficult from the US so you may need to send a few emails to an old teacher/Principal/exams officer or ask your parents to pop into your old school. 

Take colour photocopies into your school and ask a teacher/Principal/exams officer to stamp and sign the photocopies. Then take clear PDF scans of the stamped and signed transcripts. If you or a parent absolutely cannot go into school, take clear scans of your transcripts, email them to a teacher/Principal/exams officer and ask them to print them, stamp and sign and scan them back to you in colour. You will need to ask someone you got on very well with to do this as it is a lot of work, you must ask politely and explain how important this is for your university. Your certificates need to look like the below to be accepted by the evaluation companies. 
A-Level Certificates look very similar to GCSE certificates
You need module pages with BTECs


Request an InCred update
  1. Login to your InCred account
  2. You should see your original evaluation request. On the far right, click the down arrow and press upload documents
    1. If during the initial application process you entered details for your A-Levels/BTEC upload the documents to that entry.
    2. If you only see your GCSE school listed, upload the documents to that entry. InCred will still process your new certificates, regardless if you completed them at that school or not. 
  3. Here you can upload your A-Level or equivalent transcripts.
    1. Ensure the start and end date details are correct
    2. "Currently enrolled" needs to say No
    3. "Credential earned" needs to say Yes
    4. Once uploaded press submit on the popup page
    5. Press submit on the main page
  4. Go back to the main "My Applications" page
  5. Click again on the down arrow on the far right and select upgrade
  6. Choose course-by-course 
  7. Choose nothing for certified copy add on
  8. Choose nothing for expedited service
  9. Select submit
  10. Enter your card details on the next page and pay
  11. Your evaluation should now begin processing

Request a TEC evaluation
  1. Go to the TEC website and input your information
  2. Choose course analysis, you shouldn't need a faster service than their standard one
Educational history
  1. Under educational history, input details for your A-Levels or the equivalent qualification you took. You do not list your GCSEs!
    1. You do not list every subject, just the qualification
    2. It is most likely your school is not listed, choose my institution is not available and type in your school name
    3. Your type of degree is also most likely not listed. Choose type of degree not available and type your degree name
  2. Put the year you completed your studies, this will be on your certificates. 
    1. For most people, the number of years of study will be 2
Verification, delivery and checkout
  1. Select verification is not required
  2. Your report must be sent to someone at your school and not yourself! In here you need to put your academic advisors details
  3. On the next page select no hard copies
  4. You will then see a summary of your order
  5. On the following page you can now upload your certificates in PDF format. Remember, these need to be stamped and signed by your school
  6. Once you have uploaded your certificates, you can pay the fee
If there are any problems with your evaluation, TEC will email you. 

It will take around 10 working days for the evaluation to be completed. You should receive an email once it is complete or if they require any further information. Give your advisor a couple of days to process your report then check in with them to ensure the credits get added to your transcript. 

If you have any problems with your evaluation or you would like to ask any questions regarding your evaluation, please direct any questions directly to the evaluation service.
InCred - incred@naia.org 

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