When an international dental student applies to the U.S., they may come from any of the 183 countries around the world. Each college might have a different method of evaluation and grading dentist in their semester exams.
It becomes difficult for admissions committees to assess whether a 7.8 GPA in King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia is the same as a 7.8 GPA in D.Y. Patil University in India, and you know firsthand that they aren’t the same.
Since schools can’t compare whether the GPA scores published by international colleges are equivalent, they outsource that work to a 3rd party organization. This company known as ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators) develops a framework to make an estimate of what your international GPA would be if it were converted to the U.S. ‘4’ point scale based on the credibility of your college, meritocracy of your grading system and competitiveness to secure that score in your country and university.
While you may expect a 7.5/10 international GPA is a 3/4 U.S. GPA, it isn’t. Depending on the university you went to, the country you came from, and the year you graduated it could be anywhere between 2.5 and 3.8 on the ECE report. In order to do this complex math, the ECE company charges applicants who want their score evaluated and add a fee for every school you want the score forwarded to.
Why would you incur a cost to send your score to every school, when it can just be sent over an email? The answer to that even we don’t know! Maybe because it is easy to extort desperate international dentists given their desperation to access opportunities in the U.S.
ECE is not just meant for dental school. Anyone in the U.S. that needs to know your academic proficienty can demand your ECE score. This could be your Advanced Standing Program, your Residency program, your employer, or the board that is evaluating you for licensing requirements.
Key advantages of having an ECE score
No, you have many alternatives to ECE that you can use to get your foreign educational credential evaluated. The primary restriction comes from the schools you are applying to. Most schools that offer the advanced standing program only accept the ECE evaluation. Few others accept WES., and very few accept alternatives to these two. The restriction of choice happens to be your biggest barrier in comparing options and choosing one that fits your needs.
There are a couple of reasons why ECE is popular among schools
Step 1: Sign up and Onboard
Step 2: Select the “Course by Course” evaluation option
Step 3: Submit required documents
Step 4: Complete and Wait
Keep in mind, that your ECE report is only 1 among 17 things you will have to submit through the CAAPID portal to get into school. Given how simple the ECE submission process is, you’d want to knock that out of the park sooner. As always, submitting your scores early will give you an edge in admissions.
Each university and program that you apply to may require a different kind of report. If you are sure that you are applying only to the Advanced Standing International Dental Program, then you only need to order the Course-by-Course report. If you, however were considering other graduate programs, the table below guides you on options available –
Confirms the authenticity of academic documents and recognizes the status of your institution and the equivalency of your program of study
General with Grade Average
Same features as General but adds a cumulative GPA
Provides information on all of your individual coursework including the U.S. or Canadian equivalent course title, grade, and credits. The validity of the Course by Course Report is one year.
Key requirement
What will your ECE report include
Steps to apply for the ECE report if you are applying for CAAPID
Review your specific documentation requirements by selecting your country of education below.
Step 1: Go to the ECE website
Step 2 : Click on Applicants to US Institutions
Step 3 : Scroll down and click on the ‘for further education option
Step 4 : Click on the Course-by-Course option in the first step, and then click on the Apply Online button that appears with the price of the Evaluation Report.
Step 5 : Click on create an account or login with your existing credentials
Step 6 : After clicking on create an account, click on For Individua
Step 7: Refer to your passport and fill out your credentials. Click on I’m not a robot and then submit.
Step 8 : Once you submit the form, you’ll get an email to activate your ECE account. Activate your account, log in using your credentials, and click on the US Evaluation Report Application option.
After that, fill in all the details as asked in the form and submit the form along with the request to send the ECE report to JCNDE, Junior Commission of Dental Examination.
Once the JCNDE/ADA accepts your application, you will get a confirmation email.
After obtaining a confirmation, you can now apply for the INBDE exam and start your preparations.
INBDE is a written and pass/fail type examination that is not easy to crack. You can find the best study material for INBDE on Meriters. It is the most trusted source by international dental students and dentists to prepare for the exam.
Submit your dental school academic record (transcript) to Education Credential Evaluators (ECE) or World Education Services (WES) and request a course-by-course (not summary) evaluation of your record. NOTE: If your transcript is not in English, it must be translated into
English as well as evaluated on a course-by-course basis.
ADEA CAAPID will distribute a copy of your original WES or ECE course-by-course evaluation in English to each program selected. To request an original WES or ECE evaluation, go to the preferred service’s website, create an account, and follow the instructions provided for submitting your documents for evaluation and translation into English.
If You Cannot Submit an Original Course-by-Course Evaluation Occasionally, applicants who apply to advanced placement programs may be unable to obtain an official transcript to be submitted for evaluation. This can occur, for example, when an educational institution closes, or due to conflict or other extenuating circumstances.
If the applicant is unable to have an original dental school transcript submitted to WES or ECE to be evaluated course-by-course, select “Request for Exception” in the Colleges and Universities/Dental Schools Attended Section. The applicant will then be prompted to provide an explanation about why a transcript is not available. This explanation will be distributed to each program selected.
If you would like to learn more about ECE and their services, you can visit their website for many helpful resources. If you’re ready to apply, get started now!
The ECE application process may be straightforward but I faced a few minor roadblocks. Given below are three takeaways from my experience
Mail the documents to ECE ‘after’ the completion of your ECE application
Upon completing the application, you’ll have the option to download a ‘Document Matching Form,’ which should accompany your documents. This form contains a unique reference number that must be mentioned on the envelope to facilitate proper identification and linking with your application. While not fulfilling these requisites won’t be a deal-breaker, it may cause a slight processing delay of a few business days. Rest assured, ECE can utilize your demographic data to link your application and documents. Should you encounter any concerns, promptly notify a customer care expert from ECE, eliminating the need to mail your Document Matching Form separately.
Double-check the breakdown of the cost for the requested service
In some cases, inherent errors may lead to incorrect charges for an entire evaluation when you only requested a report update. If you encounter such a situation, reach out to ECE’s customer care to express your concern. They will likely suggest selecting the ‘Pay by cheque ‘ option, allowing time to address the issue without immediate payment. Following this, ECE will email you a link with the revised cost, facilitating regular payment using a debit/credit card.
Ensure that the email address associated with your ECE account and ADEA CAAPID account are one and the same.
To request an electronic ECE report to be sent directly to ADEA CAAPID, access ECE’s official website through the ‘Schools Attended’ section of your ADEA CAAPID application. Once you log in to your ECE account, ADEA CAAPID will automatically be enlisted as a recipient. However, if you don’t see this automated enlistment, it might be due to your ECE and ADEA CAAPID accounts being affiliated with different email addresses. To avoid any complications, ensure that both email addresses match to resolve this issue promptly.