avanutria

I bet the conversation went something like this:

woman: Boss, the applicant doesn't have a high school diploma. He wants to submit some other paper instead. Something called a Standard Grade Certificate.

Boss: What, his transcript? Not good enough. If he didn't finish high school he'll have to get a GED.

CelticRover

Indeed! Been there and done that and then some.

AmerLisa

Not the best, I agree. But here in Washington a high school diploma can't be granted if state standardized testing (in our case the MSP) isn't passed.

TartanScotsman

Yup I can see that happening. Even if I gave them my Standard Grade Certificate, they would have no idea what it is... and how would they even be able to verify it's real?

Duncan Roberts

If this is how it is BEFORE you start working there, is it a place you really want to work? If the answer is yes and all the company want's is a piece of paper showing you have a diploma, call the school back up and see if they can doctor you up a diploma on official paper.

TartanScotsman

Yes, I would really like to work there. It is without a doubt the best job offer I have had since living in the US.

YoungSteve17

Just go to you local adult learning center and ask when the next GED test is. They give them every week or so and all you need is state ID and your SSN. Even so you wouldn't get the actual diploma by the 20th.

TartanScotsman

Cheers mate

Sarah

Not sure if they verify high school qualifications but I've had to use http://www.wes.org/ to verify that my bachelors from the UK is the equivalent of the same qualification from the USA.

Brat1

When we moved here last year, we had the same crap at the local High School. I'd taken all her work, standard grade results and they looked at me as if I had 2 heads. To cut a long story short, they had to send off her standard grade results to the local school authority who eventually came back (several weeks later I may add) and said that her grades were equivalent to a diploma and she didn't have to attend school.

Don't know what to suggest really, I would have thought that they wanted to hire you because you are the right person for the job, not because you have a bit of paper saying that you graduated high school. And the fact that the SQA will not send you a copy is absolutely ridiculous. Good luck, I hope you can sort this out and get the job

Bluegrass Lass

My husband went to school in South Africa. He (luckily) brought his matric certificate with him, and we had it evaluated with ECE (www.ece.org) to show the equivalency to a HS diploma. So once you can get your Standard Grade Certificate, you could use this to get the evaluation done to prove you have the equivalent without having to go through the effort of a GED. Don't forget the GED will likely have stuff on it that you may/may not have done in Scotland - i.e. American history.

avanutria

Good point - according to http://www.cpcc.edu/community_development/faqs/ged-test there are questions on national history and on civics & government.

Edit - on the other hand, the sample social studies questions on http://www.acenet.edu/Content/Naviga...est/social.htm suggest that a lot of it can be gotten through with some critical thinking and common sense.

Bob

They do verify A-levels, GCSE's too at a guess...wouldn't get done in a week though.

bevinva

The schools here at least give you credit for courses taken in the UK but you don't have to get a good grade to impress them! Look at page 98 and on.
http://www.vbschools.com/curriculum/...culumGuide.pdf

Gingerert

Okay, this was ten years ago (oh my god, I can't believe it's been TEN years... ), but I was an exchange student in Minnesota after finishing my A-Levels in the UK.

I took my A-Level results and a copy of a letter my exchange organisation sent to me, to the high school. The letter contained a chart detailing the equivalent grades in US and UK schools (I seem to remember a UK grade C at A-Level was the same as a US grade A, which I felt kind of smug about), and because it was on 'official' paper from my organisation, the school entered my results as their US equivalents. So I went from As and Bs at A-Level to all grade As! Result! It meant they were happy to issue me with a high school diploma at the end of the year because it was clear I had done above and beyond the amount of work required to get one in Minnesota.

Now, the reason I bring this up is because there MUST be some website SOMEWHERE that will host a conversion chart for exactly this purpose. Print it off, and see if your HR contact will accept it along with any proof you finished high school in the UK.

If not, politely suggest your Scottish school did a better job educating you than her US school did... and then leg it!