Mexico vs Portugal Grading System

How does the Mexico grading system work?

Mexican universities use a 0–10 scale where 6 is the minimum pass mark. UNAM and most public universities use this system.

⚠️ Mexican pass mark is 6/10, not 5/10.

How does the Portugal grading system work?

Portuguese universities use a 0–20 scale inherited from the French tradition. Pass mark is 10. Grades of 18–20 are rarely awarded.

Do Mexico and Portugal 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 Mexico

The 0–10 scale is used more fully in Mexico than in Brazil or the Netherlands — averages of 8 and 9 are common at good universities — which means it converts less badly than other ten-point systems but also that a high promedio is less distinguishing than it looks. The signal worth highlighting abroad is mención honorífica, since it reflects a judgement on the thesis by a committee rather than an arithmetic average, and it is not something a foreign admissions office will infer from the number.

What a good grade means in Portugal

As with other 20-point systems, the top of the Portuguese scale is barely used: marks above 17 are uncommon and 20 is effectively unattainable, so a 15 or 16 represents a strong degree rather than the mediocre 75–80% it resembles when converted arithmetically. The honours labels at 18 and above are worth stating on an application precisely because the number alone does not communicate how rare they are.

Will a grade from Mexico get you into Portugal?

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

Muy bien (9–9.9) → approximately 3.5 GPA. Bien (8–8.9) → approximately 3.0 GPA.

What goes wrong converting grades from Mexico to Portugal?

The pass marks differ — 6.0 in Mexico against 10.0 in Portugal — so the two scales have different usable ranges and the middle of one is not the middle of the other.

Mistakes specific to Mexico grades

• Assuming a promedio of 8 is exceptional. Mexican averages sit higher than in many ten-point systems, so 8 is good rather than outstanding.
• Overlooking the postgraduate pass mark. Many Mexican master's programmes require an 8 average, above the undergraduate threshold.
• Leaving out mención honorífica where you hold it — it is a committee distinction that the average alone does not convey.

What should you do next, applying from Mexico to Portugal?

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, Portugal 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 Mexico grading works · How Portugal 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.

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.

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