California State University San Marcos: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

Worth knowing about CSUSM

CSUSM requirements in detail

Translations for every record, copies first

CSUSM's Global Programs and Services office lists the same academic items for first-year, transfer and graduate applicants: all official records, certificates, examination grades, degrees or diplomas in the original language, mailed in a school-sealed envelope, plus official English translations of each (first-year, transfer, graduate).

Copies are accepted for the admission decision, and uploading them speeds processing; official international transcripts are mailed directly to CSUSM after you are accepted, and must arrive before the I-20 is issued (deadlines).

Lower-division transfers also send secondary school transcripts; see high school diploma translation.

US residents with college work from abroad follow a separate page that routes them to International Admissions: sealed foreign records, official English translations and, for foreign degrees, an approved evaluation, mailed to the Extended Learning Building in San Marcos (US students with foreign coursework).

Foreign degrees and graduate records: the approved agencies

Any foreign degree not completed in the US, and all non-US records of graduate and post-baccalaureate applicants with the grading scale, must go to one of the agencies CSUSM lists for a course-by-course, detailed report: Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI), Academic & Professional International Evaluations, Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), Educational Records Evaluation Service (ERES), IERF and WES.

A report from another NACES member is considered if you contact International Admissions (approved agencies).

Their translation rules differ.

WES wants a word-for-word translation by a professional translator and no self-translations; ECE accepts complete word-for-word translations, including the applicant's own, and sells an $85 waiver under which it translates internally.

ACEI asks for a translator certified by ATA, which eVerbary can provide on request for the languages ATA certifies.

Documents applicants usually translate

• Secondary school transcripts and examination certificates
• University transcripts or mark sheets, with the grading scale
• Degree certificates and diplomas
• Bank statements dated within six months, for the affidavit of support

What an eVerbary translation includes

• A complete English translation of every page, stamps, seals and handwritten notes included, laid out like the original so each line can be matched.
• Grades exactly as recorded, with the grading scale the document prints. We never convert marks to a US GPA.
• A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload.
• $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, certification included; 24 hours for one to three pages as standard. Regular clients who need it can get delivery in as little as 30 minutes, on request.

Uploading the translation to CSUSM

• Upload the translation with a copy of each record after applying through Cal State Apply; CSUSM uses copies for the decision (First-time freshman: I want to apply).

• After acceptance, mail the official sealed records with their translations to CSUSM International Admissions, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos (US students with foreign coursework). For a foreign degree, the translation also goes to the evaluation agency.

If you need a translator certified by ATA

Some offices accept only a translator who is personally certified by the American Translators Association (ATA). eVerbary assigns one on request, for the languages ATA certifies into English:

To order it, ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for CSUSM, which program it is for, and that you need a translator individually certified by ATA, plus anything else the office asks for (notarization, delivery by email to the office).

We confirm the price and the translator before you pay. ATA does not certify other languages into English, so no translator anywhere holds ATA certification for them.

For those languages we provide a notarized certified translation instead, at $44.95 per page plus notarization ($34.90 per order); ask the office to confirm it accepts that, and write its answer in the quote notes.

How to order

1. Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
2. Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
3. Receive the PDF, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages, and upload it with the copy of the original wherever the institution asks for it.

Frequently asked questions