Brazil vs Norway Grading System

How does the Brazil grading system work?

Brazilian universities use a 0–10 scale with 5.0 as the pass mark. Grading varies between public and private institutions.

How does the Norway grading system work?

Norwegian universities use A–F letter grades where A is highest and E is minimum pass. F is fail. Enter A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1, F=0.

Do Brazil and Norway mark to the same standard?

No — and it is the difference in marking culture, not the arithmetic, that makes a direct comparison mislead. Here is how each country actually uses its own scale.

What a good grade means in Brazil

The variable pass mark is the detail that matters most: a 6.5 means something quite different at an institution passing at 5 than at one passing at 7, so the number alone under-describes the result. On top of that the 0–10 scale is used conservatively at the upper end, with 9s uncommon and 10s rare, so a 7.5 is a solid degree rather than the mediocre 75% it becomes under direct conversion. Send the grading key from your transcript, because it states your university's own pass mark.

What a good grade means in Norway

The A–F letters look immediately familiar to American readers, and that familiarity is misleading in one specific way: the Norwegian scale is criterion-referenced against ECTS definitions, where C is explicitly described as a good result meeting the standard expected — not the mediocre grade a C signals in the United States. A Norwegian B is a strong result. Anyone converting letter-for-letter into a US GPA will systematically understate a Norwegian transcript.

Will a grade from Brazil get you into Norway?

We do not yet hold published entry requirements for Norway, so we do not compare your grade against a bar we cannot cite. The conversion above still tells you how your result reads in Norway terms.

WES evaluates Brazilian credentials case-by-case. Course-by-course evaluation recommended.

What goes wrong converting grades from Brazil to Norway?

The pass marks differ — 5.0 in Brazil against 1 in Norway — so the two scales have different usable ranges and the middle of one is not the middle of the other.

Mistakes specific to Brazil grades

• Multiplying by ten to get a percentage. A Brazilian 7.5 is a good result, not the modest 75% it appears to be in US terms.
• Assuming a national pass mark. It varies by institution between 5 and 7, which changes what any given grade means.
• Omitting the histórico escolar. Evaluators want the full academic record rather than the diploma alone.

What should you do next, applying from Brazil to Norway?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. We hold no published national bar for this destination, so the course page is the only figure that binds.
2. Check whether an evaluation is even required. Unlike the US and Canada, Norway universities commonly assess foreign transcripts in-house. Confirm on the course page before paying for a report you may not need.
3. Get your documents moving early. Universities normally require your transcript sent directly by your institution rather than as a copy from you, which takes longer than most applicants expect.
4. Read both systems in full. How Brazil grading works · How Norway grading works

What do these grading terms mean?

Percentage scale

A 0–100 marking scale — but the numbers are not comparable across countries: 70% is an outstanding result in the UK and a modest one in India.

GPA (Grade Point Average)

The US way of expressing an overall grade, on a 0–4.0 scale where 4.0 is the top — so a 4.0 is roughly what a 90–100% or a First Class would be elsewhere.

Transcript

The official document from your university listing every subject you took and the grade you got — not the same as your degree certificate, and universities abroad want both.

Credential evaluation

A paid report from an approved company that restates your foreign qualification in local terms, which many US and Canadian universities require before they will assess you.

Credits / credit hours

A measure of how much a subject counts toward your degree — bigger subjects carry more credits and pull your average further.

Frequently asked questions