I’m a senior who’s 21 years old. I will be 22 in July. I today found out I have to retake two college classes. And it sucks because I see on social media where some of my classmates that I graduated with in high school graduated college this spring. They got their bachelors and are moving on. I feel left behind because now I have to wait until the fall. I just hate the thought of being the last person to do something. It’s the worst feeling. I have to wait 7 months. I have never been good in school! I have always struggled. But it seems so easy for others. I hate the feeling.
I graduated when I was 30. Not a problem! (That was 30 years ago)
No, it’s not bad in the least. No one of any importance will even notice it, let alone ask you about it. I’m great at school and I took 5 and half years to finish college. It had no impact on my life at all
This stuff is SO insignificant in the context of the rest of your life. It took me like 5 or 6 years and 3 different colleges (1 of them twice) to get my degree. It was a waste of money, and has had no impact on where I am now in life; which is actually in a pretty good place. That said, I completely understand how this seems like the be all end all of your world right now. Just realize that that is because of your age, and that will virtually vanish as you progress through life and gain perspective. I also completely understand that all of that probably won’t make you feel any better right now.
Truth 👆
Not something to sweat buddy, just use the term to improve your GPA if you can. GPA is also pretty meaningless if you don’t intend to pursue more education, but a higher one will leave that door open.
I didn’t graduate until I was 28. I think you’ll be okay! I get how it feels like you’re falling behind though!
If you’re like me, when you were in high school, wasn’t it really important what grade someone was in? Like you’re a junior, you’re not going to hang out with some FRESHMAN, right?
But then, when you got to college, there was this sudden shift, and now it doesn’t really matter what year someone is in? I remember that feeling, like “oh, we’re all just college students, who cares if I started a year before someone else.”
If you can relate to that experience, feeling that shift of “oh, turns out that didn’t really matter” then I promise you have another one coming soon, when you get out of college and get a job and go “oh, who cares when someone graduated college, even if they started at the same time. We’re all just doing our thing now.”
I was 2 years “too late”. I had an extra test in accounting to determine if I were allowed to attend the finals. It was only then that I understood a subject I didn’t understand for the whole time at college. I got an A on that test and crushed the finals with a B.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this at all. Some people don’t even start college until their mid 20s or even later, if they have the opportunity at all. Finishing a few months later than some of you peers is a minute difference in the grand scheme of things and you should try not to stress about it and focus on doing the best you can with the work that’s left. You will look back on this and find it amusing you were concerned about it - enjoy the extra time you have studying before you move on to the working world where you most likely be for the next 40+ years. Good luck and all the best.
I started college at 16, and completed my first degree at 39. Don’t feel bad, the timeline works differently for different people.
It could make things slightly more difficult straight out of college, but beyond that? Not really. It took me 8yrs to get through college. The fact that you’re almost done means you’re doing great!
Listen to the other folks, but also if you graduate in the fall semester you have way less competition for a job since most people graduate in the spring.
So you’ve got that going for you.
Nothing to worry about whatsoever. My high school cohort and I ended up all over the world - some in countries with 3 year programmes, others in countries with 4 year programmes, others who dropped out or changed fields and started over.
I promise you that it does not matter. What matters is that you achieve your own goal of getting a bachelor’s, at your pace. :)
On your cv/resume, are you putting the month-year you started and finished college, or just the end month year, or just the graduation year? As time passes, it’ll be just the year you graduate. (Some day you might just say you have the degree from school name)
No. I swear it doesn’t matter.
I’m in Québec. Here we have 6 years of elementary school, 5 years of high-school, 2 or 3 years of Cegep (college) depending if it’s pre-university or a vocational degree, then 4 years university to get a bachelor’s degree.
I was pulled back from advanced math to regular math back in my last year of high-school because the teacher hated my guts for some reason, and had to redo my advanced math to get into Cegep in computer science. Then, when I graduated after 3 years, my degree wasn’t good enough and I had to go to university. At uni we had 3 semesters a year instead of 2 because it was an engineering degree and because of internships. But I worked in the summer to get some money to pay for my school expenses. Ended up finishing uni in 5 years instead of 4.
Yeah I got set back a couple of years, but it’s okay. And honestly nobody cares if you failed a year in high school. As long as you finish, that’s all that matters.
When I was still hiring, I barely even read the education section except out of curiosity or to come up with interview questions. The only thing disqualifying would have been if the school was fake (like a Trump University MBA or whatever). It matters for “prestigious” white shoe law firms, major investment banks, grad school, etc. but not really anyone else.
Don’t half-ass your cover letter and interviews, though. For people without experience, especially, I, personally, was always trying to make sure we had a good match. I read every cover letter in part to make sure (a) people were literate, (b) knew what the job entailed, and © could be put in a position to succeed. You don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t match. A person applying to a non-profit working with schools and a person applying at a rocket launch start-up aren’t equally qualified regardless of skills and that’s fine.
I know needing a job sucks but there are always qualified people who just aren’t a good fit. So, don’t take it personally if you get rejected. I’ve been to third interviews because I got along with someone and then not chosen for jobs that, in retrospect, I really shouldn’t have been hired to do. I would have been miserable and left. Maybe it was a culture mismatch or maybe I’d didn’t care about the product but thought, “I could live in that city and get another job in a year.” There’s always “finalists” and sometimes, it comes down to a coin flip.
