WES Evaluation for Indian Students: A Complete Guide

If you plan to apply to American or Canadian universities, you must provide GPA scores. Since the scores must be according to American calculations, scores provided by Indian universities must be converted. Here is where WES, which stands for World Education Services, comes to the student's rescue. In this article, we will talk about the WES Evaluation for Indian students, the WES ECA timelines, the documents required, and the WES processing time after receiving documents, along with more details.

World Education Services (WES) is North America’s trusted leader in credential evaluation services. It is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, refugees, and immigrants achieve their career and educational goals in the United States and Canada. WES works directly with more than 48,000+ global Higher Education Institutes in 200+ countries and provides life-changing outcomes for their students and alumni. WES evaluates more than 4 million cases annually, making it the largest credential evaluator in North America. In this article, we will talk about WES evaluation, the WES ECA timeline to be followed, and what WES ECA fees for Indian applicants are. 

What is WES Evaluation?

WES full form is World Education Services and WES is a major credential evaluator. WES evaluation basically evaluates academic credentials or Educational Credential Assessments (ECA), which are essential for international students applying to Canadian or US universities. The credentials evaluation by WES compares a student’s academic accomplishments to standards in the U.S. or Canada. This report helps institutions like schools, licensing boards, employers, or immigration authorities better understand educational qualifications. 

Suppose you have completed your education outside of the US or Canada and want to do higher studies or a job in these countries. In that case, a WES credential evaluation will help you understand how your academic transcripts are viewed in the US or Canada. Simply put, a WES Evaluation report serves as a credential evaluation and an authentication of academic qualifications. In short, the WES report will do a couple of things, and they are as follows:

• WES evaluation verifies that your credentials are correct.
• Identification and description of your credentials are also a part of the WES evaluation.
• The WES evaluation will also include a grade point average (GPA) equivalency (use a GPA Calculator for manual check).
• WES will also have an evaluation of the authenticity of the documents submitted by you. 

Additionally, WES evaluation will help standardise and equate the applicant's performance based on US or Canadian levels of understanding. Also, it converts CGPA into GPA of the applicant's academic reports and evaluates other credentials.

Is WES Evaluation Mandatory in US & Canada?

If your university has asked for a WES assessment, you must submit it at any cost. Most Canadian colleges will not ask for an ECA from WES. However, some universities will require an ECA from WES. It is usually advised that the students get their ECA done. Moreover, you need an ECA to apply for a Canada PR through Express Entry. WES is not the only organization that is involved in ECA. Other designated organizations include:

• Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
• International Credential Evaluation Service – British Columbia Institute of Technology

Applicants must submit WES evaluations when studying in the USA and across US universities. Evaluations will also be needed if he/she is a job seeker. The following agencies provide ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) in the USA, which can be considered by applicants applying for education or jobs in the USA:

• Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
• Josef Silny & Associates International Education Consultants (JS&A)
• WES
• Educated Choices, LLC
• American Education and Translation Services (AET)

When to Get Credentials Evaluated by WES?

A WES report gets completed within 7-10 business days from the date of application, followed by the receipt received, the review and acceptance of all documents by WES, and the full payment. WES processing time after receiving documents does not usually exceed more than 2-3 days. Thus, international applicants should apply for their WES ECA based on their admission application timelines.

WES Evaluation Takes How Many Days?

Applicants must ensure that they submit their ECA evaluation a maximum of 15-20 days before their actual date of university application submission. This way, the WES ECA will arrive within 7-10 days, and the applicants will not have to rush during peak times.

Steps to Apply for WES Evaluation

The 3-step process to apply for WES Evaluation is given below.

• First of all, submit your application and receive your WES application number.
• Next, read the document requirements and send in your documents. Do not forget to include your WES reference number.
• After this, credentials are verified. Then, the report is created and delivered to your recipients.

Documents Required for WES Evaluation 

Applicants can fill in the form on the WES website, which asks for their last academic qualification, the country they last studied, the country they aspire to study in (US or Canada), and the institution the applicant is applying to. After submitting the form, a list of documents will be prompted, which WES would require for ECA. Usually, the following documents are required for WES evaluation:

• Degree Certificate (Provisional or Final)
• University Marksheet or,
• Transcripts

How to send documents for WES Evaluation?

Based on the country of application, applicants will have to check the requirements; for example, if an applicant wants a credential evaluation of his/her high school certificate, then they will have to follow the given steps:

• Request the school exam department to send WES the applicant's mark sheets and relevant documents sealed in an envelope which are attested in a stamped envelope. 
• Once the school sends the sealed envelope, WES will evaluate and update the documents accordingly. 
• There is also an option to send the documents digitally; the instructions can be downloaded while making payments for WES evaluation.

Before submitting the documents, applicants will have to:

1. Include the reference number as provided by WES India
2. Ensure not to send original documents for evaluation
3. Check if digitally signed documents can be obtained from the applicant's institution and proposed to WES.
4. If submitting documents through courier service, ensure shipping charges are paid. 

Points to Note Before Sending Documents to WES from India

Applicants can electronically send their documents or mail the sealed envelope of your copy of transcripts to WES. In this process, applicants must:

• Complete the WES application and note the reference number provided. The reference number must be written on all attached documents or in a sealed envelope.
• WES does not accept any original documents. Thus, a copy of the documents is preferable because WES destroys them, and there is no way to restore them.
• Electronically sent documents are preferable for WES as report creation is easier.
• At all costs, applicants should pay the necessary shipping charges if any couriers are sent to WES. WES will not bear the charges under any circumstances.

What is included in WES Evaluation?

The three types of evaluation done by WES are:

1. Document-by-document Evaluation: This provides the U.S. equivalency of your credential. It is done for freshman university admissions, employment, and U.S. immigration.
2. Course-by-course Evaluation: This evaluation provides the U.S. equivalency of your credential and U.S. GPA. It lists your courses and grades. It is done for transfer and graduate university admission and licensing boards (except CPA).
3. CPA Supplemental Report analyzes your business and accounting courses for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) boards.

What is WES Evaluation Fee?

Applicants must pay a certain amount to get a WES evaluation as an international student. WES Evaluation fees vary based on the applicant's application as an undergrad, transfer or graduate student. Check out the proposed WES evaluation cost break along with the additional charges below:

Please note, that the costs are dynamic and subject to change, thus, applicants must check the costs beforehand and only then apply for the evaluation depending on submission deadlines.

WES Products

WES offers three different kinds of products:

• Free Degree Equivalency: An online tool that shows how international university degrees compare to US or Canadian degrees. This information helps the student determine eligibility for higher education.
• WES International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP): A WES service sends verified transcripts and evaluation reports to universities in one package. WES stores the documents and information for future academic or professional use.
• WES International Grade Point Average (IGPA) Calculator: This free online tool calculates and converts international grades from over 140 countries into the four-point GPA scale commonly used in the US.

You should apply for an evaluation as soon as you decide on the universities to apply to because you may need some time to collect all the documents and degrees.

You can contact WES officials to help with your credential evaluation at http://www.wes.org/contact.asp.

Read More:

• WES report on How Master's Students Choose Institutions
• How does WES convert grades to GPA?

If you have any questions, please drop us a comment below, and we'll be happy to resolve your queries! In case you wish to study abroad and seek guidance, you can sign up for free Shiksha Abroad Counselling, and our counsellors shall get back to you.