University of the Pacific: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

Worth knowing about Pacific

Pacific requirements in detail

Translation first, then WES, ECE or FIS

Pacific is explicit about the order.

Students who studied at universities outside the US go through a four-step process: a transcript evaluation, translating transcripts, submitting official transcripts, and submitting translated course descriptions (registrar).

The evaluation, course by course with a GPA, must come from World Education Services, Educational Credential Evaluators or Foundation for International Services, and your transcripts must be translated into English before any of them can process it.

Graduate applicants follow the same rule and upload the official evaluation in the application system (Graduate Admission: additional requirements for international applicants).

If your school cannot issue English transcripts, Pacific describes two routes.

A verifying institution such as the education ministry translates and notarizes your transcripts and diploma and sends them to the evaluator in a sealed envelope.

Or a certified translation service translates them and sends them directly to the evaluation provider in a sealed, signed envelope, with an official copy of the original-language transcript for comparison; if the translation is sent to you, forward it unopened, since opening the envelope voids it (graduate, registrar). eVerbary can mail the translation in a sealed, signed envelope: choose the hard copy at checkout with the agency's address ($19.95 Priority or $37.95 Express in the US) and write in the order notes that it is for a Pacific evaluation.

What each evaluation agency asks for the translation

WES asks for an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator and does not accept translations made by applicants; it takes translations as uploads in your WES account (WES).

ECE accepts a complete, literal, word-for-word translation in the same format as the original, lets applicants translate their own documents, and sells an $85 waiver under which it translates for its report only, without giving you a translation you can reuse (ECE).

We have not checked the translation rules of Foundation for International Services; Pacific notes that FIS can evaluate unofficial copies if you cannot obtain official transcripts (Graduate Admission: additional requirements for international applicants).

Pacific's sealed-envelope instructions and an agency's own upload process can differ; check with the agency you choose how it wants the translation before you order.

Undergraduates: official copies, originals on arrival

For first-year applicants, Pacific asks for official or certified copies of every secondary and post-secondary record and of public or external exam results, sent by the examining authority where possible, listing subjects and grades and including degrees, diplomas and certificates (Undergraduate Admission: official records of study).

Records come in the official language of the education system with an official translation attached.

You may submit certified or attested photocopies; if you are admitted, you present the originals to the Office of Admission before registration.

Transfer students with college work abroad add the course-by-course evaluation and official course descriptions from the school's website or catalog, translated into English (FAQ, registrar).

Pacific's international deadlines run from November 15 (early action) and January 15 (regular) to June 1, the final fall deadline for international students (International students FAQ).

Documents applicants usually translate

• Secondary school records, diplomas and external exam results
• University transcripts and diploma or proof of degree, for the evaluation
• Course descriptions from the school's catalog or website, for transfer credit
• Bank statements or sponsor letters for the Certification of Finances

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 Pacific

• Undergraduate records, with the official translation attached, go to the Office of Admission (Undergraduate Admission: official records of study); its mailing address is 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95211-0197, and it takes financial documents by email at admission@pacific.edu (FAQ). Ask the office whether it accepts the translation by email.

• For an evaluation, the translation goes to WES, ECE or FIS, sealed or through the agency's own upload; the agency sends the evaluation to Pacific's Office of Admission, or graduate applicants upload it in the application system (registrar, graduate).

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