How does the France grading system work?

French universities use a 20-point scale where 10/20 is the pass mark. Most students score 10–14. A 14/20 is a genuinely strong result. Scores above 16 are rare.

⚠️ The French pass mark is 10/20 — not 50%. A score of 12–14 is a good result.

Credential-evaluator source: Nuffic — French grading system (Dutch credential evaluator) · cross-checked against Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, France · grading data verified 2026-07-24 · how we convert · report an error

Full France guide

How does the Sweden grading system work?

Swedish universities use a three-tier system: U (Fail), G (Pass), VG (Pass with distinction). Many transcripts show only descriptors with no numerical grade, limiting conversion precision.

⚠️ Many Swedish transcripts show only Pass/Fail or U/G/VG — no numerical grade. Conversion precision is limited.

Credential-evaluator source: Scholaro — Sweden grading system (multiple scales in use) · source-verification in progress · how we convert · report an error

Full Sweden guide

Do France and Sweden 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 France

The 20-point scale is not designed to be filled. Marks above 16 are rare, above 18 essentially never awarded, and 20 is treated as theoretically unattainable rather than a target — the distribution clusters between 8 and 16 with a passing mean around 11 to 13, and only a small percentage of students reach Très bien. A 14/20 is therefore a genuinely strong degree. Anyone converting by multiplying by five and reading "70%" will misjudge it in both directions depending on which country they are comparing against.

What a good grade means in Sweden

This is the one country on the site where we openly say the conversion is an approximation rather than a measurement, and the reason is structural rather than a gap in our research: there is no common scale to convert from. A Swedish applicant is generally better served presenting their transcript as it is, with the ECTS letters where they exist, than converting it into a percentage or GPA that implies a precision the original never had. Admissions offices across Europe read Swedish transcripts routinely and are used to this.

Will a grade from France get you into Sweden?

WES is familiar with French grade compression. Bien (14/20) → approximately 3.3 GPA. Très bien (16+) → approximately 4.0 GPA.

What goes wrong converting grades from France to Sweden?

France rarely awards near the top of its own scale, so a result that looks modest in France terms converts higher than a direct comparison suggests.

Mistakes specific to France grades

Assuming the pass mark is half. It is 10 out of 20, and the scale's usable range sits well below the maximum.
Multiplying by five to get a percentage. A 14/20 is Bien, a good result, and "70%" does not carry that meaning in either the US or India.
Leaving the mention off an application. Très bien and Bien are recognised internationally and explain the mark better than the number does.

What should you do next, applying from France to Sweden?

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.
Check whether an evaluation is even required. Unlike the US and Canada, Sweden universities commonly assess foreign transcripts in-house. Confirm on the course page before paying for a report you may not need.
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.
Read both systems in full. How France grading works · How Sweden 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.
Grade compression: Where a marking culture rarely uses the top of its own scale, so the highest grades anyone actually earns sit well below the theoretical maximum.
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

What is a 16.0 from France on Sweden's scale?

Approximately 80–100 / 100 — Pass with special distinction (MVG). That is a range rather than a single number because grade conversion is an estimate, and the range widens where either country's data is less certain. Enter your own grade in the converter above for your figure.

Can you study a master's in Sweden with a degree from France?

Sweden has no single national grading scale — universities variously use A–F, G/VG/MVG, or plain pass/fail, and many courses award no numeric grade at all. There is no common scale on which an entry requirement could be stated, and Swedish master's selection weighs completed credits and course match more heavily than a grade average. So converting your grade tells you how your result reads in Sweden terms, but it will not tell you whether you clear a bar — because no such bar is published.

France vs Sweden Grading System