Converting Grades Between Countries: German 1-6 vs US Letters vs UK 9-1
A German 2, an American B+ and a British 6 can describe roughly the same student, but no official table says so. Grade conversion is a landscape of approximations, and the differences between systems run deeper than the numbers suggest.
A rough equivalence table
With all caveats attached (and there are many), here is the ballpark alignment most people land on when comparing everyday school grades:
- German 1 (sehr gut) roughly matches a US A / A- (about 3.7-4.0 GPA) and UK grades 8-9
- German 2 (gut) roughly matches a US B to B+ (about 3.0-3.3) and UK grades 6-7
- German 3 (befriedigend) roughly matches a US C+ to B- (about 2.3-2.7) and UK grades 4-5
- German 4 (ausreichend) roughly matches a US C- to D, and a UK 3-4 border: a bare pass
- German 5 and 6 are fails, comparable to a US F and UK grades below 3 or U
Direction matters too: German (and Austrian and Polish) scales run best-to-worst from low numbers to high, the UK 9-1 and Swiss 6-1 scales run the other way, and the US works in letters mapped to a 4.0 GPA scale. Turkey grades 0-100 and Brazil typically 0-10, both with higher being better.
Why conversions are only ever approximate
The systems do not just use different symbols, they distribute students differently. A US A is common in many schools, while a German 1 is comparatively rare, so mapping A to 1 flatters some transcripts and punishes others. Grade cultures also differ within countries: a 3 from a strict Gymnasium teacher and a 3 from a lenient one are the same number on paper. And the scales measure against different curricula, exam formats and passing philosophies, so any single table is a simplification.
The formula universities actually use
For admissions to German universities, foreign grades are converted with the modified Bavarian formula: x = 1 + 3 x (Nmax - Nd) / (Nmax - Nmin), where Nmax is the best grade in the source system, Nmin the lowest passing grade, and Nd your grade. Worked example for a US GPA of 3.4 on a 4.0 scale with 1.0 as the lowest pass: x = 1 + 3 x (4.0 - 3.4) / (4.0 - 1.0) = 1 + 3 x 0.2 = 1.6, a good German grade. Other countries use their own official procedures (credential evaluators like WES in North America, UK ENIC in Britain), and those official numbers are the only ones that count for applications.
Practical advice for students moving between systems
- Never convert grades yourself on an application: submit originals and let the institution or an accredited evaluator convert them
- Use rough tables only for personal orientation, like understanding what a host school's report card means
- Keep a complete record of your original grades, including category weights, because evaluators sometimes ask how averages were built
- When in doubt, ask the admissions office which conversion they apply: the answer varies even between universities in the same country
One app, eight systems
If you are moving between school systems, or just curious, GradeBuddy supports 8 grading systems (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, USA, Poland, Turkey and Brazil), so you can track grades in whichever system your current school uses. For the details of the individual scales, see the guides on the German 1-6 system and UK GCSE 9-1 grades.
Common questions
- What is a German 2 in American grades?
- Roughly a B to B+ (around 3.0-3.3 GPA). A German 2 means gut (good), comfortably above average. But this is an informal approximation: official conversions use formulas like the modified Bavarian formula and can land differently.
- How do I convert my GPA to the German grading system?
- German universities typically use the modified Bavarian formula: 1 + 3 x (Nmax - Nd) / (Nmax - Nmin). A 3.4 GPA on a 4.0 scale with 1.0 as the lowest pass converts to about 1.6. Each university confirms its own procedure, so verify with the admissions office.
- Is a UK grade 9 the same as a German 1?
- Roughly, yes: both are the top of their scales and both are relatively rare. But a UK 9 is defined against GCSE grade boundaries and a German 1 against classroom performance descriptors, so the comparison is informal, not official.
- Are online grade conversion tables accurate?
- They are fine for orientation but not for applications. Systems distribute grades differently, and institutions apply their own official formulas or use credential evaluators. For anything that matters, use the conversion the receiving institution prescribes.