Spanish Grade to GPA
Convert a Spanish nota on the 0–10 scale to its named grade and a US 4.0 GPA.
8.0 is Notable (7.0–8.9), which maps to 3.0 on the US 4.0 scale — a letter grade of B.
Matrícula de Honor is awarded on top of a Sobresaliente to a limited number of students and is noted separately — it does not raise the 10-point grade above 10.
Spanish university marks run 0 to 10 with named bands: 9.0–10.0 is Sobresaliente, 7.0–8.9 Notable, 5.0–6.9 Aprobado, and below 5.0 Suspenso. Credential evaluators read those as A, B, C, and F — so a nota of 8.0 is a Notable, a US B, worth 3.0.
Numbers with names attached
Spain grades on a 0–10 scale, and each range carries a name that appears on the transcript alongside the number. Aprobado begins at 5.0, the pass mark; Notable at 7.0; Sobresaliente at 9.0. Anything below 5.0 is Suspenso and does not pass.
Above Sobresaliente sits Matrícula de Honor, a distinction awarded to a limited number of students in a class — typically capped at around one in twenty. It is not a higher number: a Matrícula de Honor student still has a nota between 9 and 10, with the honour recorded separately. It usually carries a fee exemption for the following year, which is where the name comes from.
A high nota is rarer than it looks
Spanish grading is comparatively strict at the top. A nota media of 7 is a solid record and 8 is strong, where an equivalent US transcript might show a 3.5 GPA. Converting mechanically can therefore understate a Spanish applicant, which is one reason evaluators look at the distribution rather than the number alone.
Worked example
Converting a nota of 8.0 to the US 4.0 scale.
- 1 Take the nota. Use a course grade or your nota media — 8.0 here.
- 2 Find the named band. 8.0 falls between 7.0 and 8.9, which is Notable.
- 3 Read the US equivalent. Notable maps to a US B, which is 3.0 on the 4.0 scale.
- 4 Note any Matrícula de Honor separately. It is a distinction on top of a Sobresaliente, not a higher nota, so record it as an honour rather than folding it into the average.
Spanish nota → US GPA
The Spanish university 10-point scale as read in credential evaluation. Secondary-school scales in Spain use finer bands, including Bien and Suficiente.
| Nota | Spanish name | US letter | US 4.0 GPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0–10.0 | Sobresaliente | A | 4.0 |
| 7.0–8.9 | Notable | B | 3.0 |
| 5.0–6.9 | Aprobado | C | 2.0 |
| Below 5.0 | Suspenso | F | 0.0 |
| 9.0–10.0 with distinction | Matrícula de Honor | A | 4.0 |
Nota media and ECTS credits
Spanish degrees are measured in ECTS credits, and the nota media is the credit-weighted average of your notas — the direct counterpart of a GPA. A course worth 12 ECTS moves the average twice as much as one worth 6, exactly as US credit hours do.
When applying abroad, report the nota media on its original 0–10 scale alongside any converted figure, and mention the maximum. Spanish transcripts issued for international use often include an ECTS grade as well, which some European institutions will prefer to a US-style conversion.