Oakland University: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

Worth knowing about Oakland University

Oakland University requirements in detail

High school: OU reads your translation; college: an agency does

Oakland University splits international records in two.

A high school transcript from a school abroad where instruction was not in English comes with a literal English translated copy, and OU reads it directly; no evaluation is mentioned (International undergraduate admissions).

Literal means course by course and mark by mark, with the grading scale as printed, so the admission staff see what your school issued.

College or university transcripts from abroad, by contrast, must be evaluated by a professional credential evaluation service that is a current NACES member, and the report must be course-by-course (detailed); OU names WES, ECE and SpanTran as the agencies most students choose (International undergraduate admissions).

There the translation goes to the agency with your records, not to OU.

What each evaluation agency asks for the translation

SpanTran, now The Evaluation Company, is OU's preferred route: it selects the right report, gives a discount and sends a copy to OU at no extra charge (International undergraduate admissions).

It takes outside translations only from translators certified by the American Translators Association, or sells its own after your evaluation application is complete (TEC); see the ATA section below.

WES wants a word-for-word translation by a professional translator and refuses translations by applicants (WES).

ECE accepts any complete, word-for-word translation, including your own, and sells an $85 waiver under which it translates for its report only, without giving you a translation you can reuse (ECE).

Graduate applicants: photocopies and an evaluation

The graduate catalog asks international applicants for an evaluation from a NACES member organization; many use WES or ECE, and programs that need more detail may ask for a course-by-course report instead of a general one (Graduate catalog: international admission requirements).

Because the evaluator receives and verifies the official transcripts, Oakland University does not ask for them; you submit photocopies of your foreign transcripts with your application.

F-1 and J-1 graduate applicants also submit an affidavit of financial support and a notarized bank statement in US dollars (Graduate catalog: international admission requirements).

The catalog does not say whether a statement issued in another language needs a translation, so ask Graduate Admissions before you send one.

Documents applicants usually translate

• High school transcripts and diplomas from schools abroad
• College and university transcripts, for the NACES evaluation
• Degree certificates and mark sheets
• Bank statements for the financial documentation

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 Oakland University

• Undergraduate applicants email unofficial transcripts, the literal English translation of a foreign high school transcript and English test scores to international@oakland.edu; financial documents are uploaded in the application portal (International undergraduate admissions).

• For college work abroad, the translation goes to the evaluation agency with your records; SpanTran, for example, sends its report to OU (International undergraduate admissions).

  Graduate applicants include photocopies of their foreign transcripts with the application (Graduate catalog: international admission requirements).

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 Oakland University, 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