India vs Italy Grading System

How does the India grading system work?

Most Indian universities use a percentage system (0–100%). The UGC Choice Based Credit System introduced a 10-point CGPA scale now widely used alongside percentages. Grade distributions are compressed — very few students score above 85%, making 78% a genuinely strong result.

How does the Italy grading system work?

Italian university exams use an 18–30 scale where 18 is minimum pass. Final degrees use a separate 66–110 scale. These are NOT interchangeable.

⚠️ Italy uses TWO different scales: 18–30 for individual exams and 66–110 for final degree. Enter your exam grades here, not your degree score.

Do India and Italy 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 India

This is the most misunderstood thing about Indian grades abroad: Indian marking is severe at the top. Very few students exceed 85%, and an aggregate above 90% is exceptional across an entire graduating cohort. A 78% is not a mediocre result — it is a strong First Class that credential evaluators routinely read as a US GPA around 3.6–3.8. If you compare your percentage directly against a British or American percentage you will badly undersell yourself, because those systems hand out high percentages far more freely than Indian examiners do.

What a good grade means in Italy

Italian marking is generous at the pass end and demanding at the top: 18 out of 30 clears an exam, but 30 e lode is a genuine distinction. The practical point for anyone applying abroad is to send the right number. A converter or an admissions form asking for your grade usually means the exam scale, while an entry requirement quoted as "83/110" means the degree scale — and quoting one where the other is expected produces an answer that is wildly wrong in either direction.

Will a grade from India get you into Italy?

Italy universities typically ask for 22 / 30 for a taught master's — a one-to-two-year postgraduate degree made mostly of classes. On India's scale that is roughly 53–58 / 100 (Second Class). Italy sets admission per programme rather than nationally, and the requirement is usually framed as "adequate personal preparation" plus specific credits (CFU) in named subject areas — the grade is only one part of it. Bologna's civil engineering laurea magistrale states a 22/30 exam average, or equivalently a final graduation grade of at least 83/110 on Italy's separate degree scale.

University of Bologna — Civil Engineering (laurea magistrale) enrolment requirements · checked 2026-07-25 · the figure in your own terms is a double conversion, so it is a range. how this is worked out

WES accounts for Indian grade compression. A 75%+ typically converts to 3.5–3.7 US GPA, higher than a direct mathematical calculation suggests.

What goes wrong converting grades from India to Italy?

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

Mistakes specific to India grades

• Comparing your percentage straight across. A 78% in India is not a 78% in the UK — it converts to roughly a UK 68%, which is a 2:1 (upper second class, the standard UK degree grade).
• Using CBSE's CGPA × 9.5 formula when your own university publishes a different one. Use your institution's conversion certificate — evaluators do.
• Entering a Class 12 school percentage into a university-grade converter. They are different scales for different purposes: Class 12 gets you into an undergraduate degree, a degree aggregate gets you into a master's.
• Assuming a 3-year BA, BSc or BCom is automatically accepted for a US master's. It often is not — see degree structure below.

What should you do next, applying from India to Italy?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. The 22 / 30 above is the typical bar, not a guarantee — selective courses ask for more.
2. Check whether an evaluation is even required. Unlike the US and Canada, Italy 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. Evaluators want the consolidated marksheet covering every semester or year, plus the degree or provisional certificate — the marksheet alone is not enough. If your university issues a conversion certificate stating its official CGPA-to-percentage formula, include it: without one, a generic formula gets applied and it may not favour you. Most Indian universities must send transcripts directly to WES in a sealed envelope; a copy sent by you will be rejected.
4. Read both systems in full. How India grading works · How Italy 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.

CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average)

The same idea as a GPA but covering your whole degree rather than one term — the scale differs by country (India 10, Nigeria 5.0, Pakistan 4.0), so the number alone means nothing without its scale.

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.

Degree classification

A named band your final result falls into — First Class, 2:1, Distinction — used across the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, India and much of the Commonwealth instead of a single number.

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.

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.

Frequently asked questions