I want to tell people I have a 1st class even though I don’t?

[plieddried]

It bothers me so much to see my actual degree classification. On my cv I don’t even bother to write my degree classification but I still feel embarrassed. I want to start telling people (and myself) that I graduated with a 1st class honours even if it’s not true. It makes me feel happier to tell myself I got a first class. It also makes me feel more confident and secure in my ability to work. It makes me feel accomplished. Wondering if AIBU?

[ElephantOfRisk]

Jeez. I don't have a degree, couldn't afford to go to uni, it's never mattered and there is no point lying about it. I should maybe pretend I have one since I'm pretty sure I'm capable of it. I work with lots of people in a senior specialist role, it's how we do our job that matters, I have no idea which ones went to university much less what honours they achieved.

Maybe I should also up my grades of my school exams given that teachers were on strike and I probably could have done better.

Seriously you need to either move on and get on with life, redo your degree or go for a higher qualification.

What does lying really achieve, you will know you are lying.

[FirewomanSam]

The other consequence of this over-stress on assessment is the catastrophising - give a student less than 60% (bottom of an upper Second) and some students will tell me that they've failed and they are a failure.

@KaycePollard oh yes I completely relate. I was a top-of-the-class student at a very academically competitive private school. I remember talking to someone from a different school at a party once, and them casually mentioning they’d recently scraped a C in an exam so they were pretty happy about that, and just privately feeling totally confused because I quite genuinely felt like my whole universe would implode if I ever got a C. It’s not healthy.

My school put a lot of pressure on us to be musical, sporty and all that extracurricular UCAS-enhancing stuff too, and it was only after having therapy a few years ago that I really understood how that shaped my life. It took me years to realise I could take up hobbies like sport, dancing, art, music and so on because I find them fun, and that I don’t have to be the best at it or get a certificate or a medal or something to make it worthwhile.

And for all the talk of exams being easier these days and Firsts being handed out like sweets, I speak to young people all the time now who are unbelievably stressed, putting so much pressure on themselves to do well from a ridiculously young age. Older generations always want to claim that the generations below them are lazy and spoilt and getting something for nothing, but it’s an ugly and tedious generalisation that helps no one!

[Scirocco]

YABU.

You didn't get a first. Lying to yourself is pointless as it will just add to your internal critic that you're a liar as well as not getting a first. Lying to others is pointless as they'll either a) think you're being really arrogant by dropping it in conversation where it's irrelevant, or b) find out about the lie, which brings its own personal and professional consequences.

Outside of applications for post-grad positions such as PhD applications, nobody actually cares that much what your exam transcript or degree classification says. I work in a field where training applications include a points system which awards a grand total of 1 extra point for a first than for a second... it's irrelevant when you consider all the other, more important ways to score points on the application such as professional experience and achievements. There's also a big section on probity - without honesty and professional integrity, applications won't get far, because we do check applications for honesty in qualifications, and we do find out if people have lied.

If not having a first is causing you so much distress that you feel you need to lie about it, then you probably need to take a deeper look at your self-esteem and find things other than exam grades to bring validation to your life.

[PoppyFleur]

20+ years of working and neither DH or can remember when we were last asked about degree classification. In fact the only time the topic comes up is when I thrash DH in general knowledge quizzes and he feels the need to casually mention that he got a 1st from a very respectable uni.

I got a 2:2 from an ok uni. Did I mention the bit about me regularly beating him in quiz wins? 🤣

[Peaplant20]

When would it ever come up? And how would it boost your self esteem when it’s not true? I’d feel better about myself if I earnt more money - if I go around telling people I earn more that won’t help?

[Howshouldibehave]

I feel like we live in completely different worlds. I know many people, even people years older than me, people in their fifties who still talk about their degree classification. confused. To be fair, I guess it depends on the people in your immediate environment

Indeed-it is very weird that you experience this so much it’s a massive problem for your confidence, yet nobody else in nearly 500 replies, does!

Did you get a third?

What sort people are you working with? I work in a profession where everyone is a graduate-it has literally never come up in 20+ years.

[FilthyforFirth]

Sorry to be rude but you do come across aa quite odd.

I worked in parliament for an MP for several years, and a few of my much cleverer friends went on to do phds. Not once did anyone talk about their classifications.

I honestly dont know anyone that is now working that discusses/cares about their grade.

The only exception I can think of is a mate who did law and got a 2:2. She really struggled to get a training contract and ended up being a paralegal for ages.

I dont think, 5 years on, it should be bothering you this much.

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

@DaphneDeloresMoorhead

Superb username *@MarieIVanArkleStinks*

I'd rather swallow razor blades than drink with you

Tee hee I'm not all that bad!

[JMY123]

Sometime ago.... a newly appointed director was about to join and head up the business area where I worked, then all of a sudden she disappeared from the radar. The rest of the board were all tight lipped as to the reason, turns out she had lied about her degree classification on her CV when applying for the role. The board felt it was a matter of integrity.... if she could lie over her CV... she could lie about other matters.

[Thwackit]

My sister has a first from Oxford, one of those ‘complimentary’ masters degrees from Oxford that they used to give away and a masters from Imperial. We never hear her going on about it and she doesn’t even put the first masters on her cv because she feels she didn’t really earn it. Your self esteem seems to totally caught up in proving to yourself and others that you are worthy of going there. Why though? My husband chose another uni over Oxford as the course content there was much better suited to him. Are you properly considering the finer details of the academic programme? It sounds like you have a very romantic idea that going there will cement your confidence and you’ll rise in people’s estimation. Make sure you’re doing it because of the course and the learning alone

[BarkminsterBlue]

@Thwackit

My sister has a first from Oxford, one of those ‘complimentary’ masters degrees from Oxford that they used to give away and a masters from Imperial. We never hear her going on about it and she doesn’t even put the first masters on her cv because she feels she didn’t really earn it. Your self esteem seems to totally caught up in proving to yourself and others that you are worthy of going there. Why though? My husband chose another uni over Oxford as the course content there was much better suited to him. Are you properly considering the finer details of the academic programme? It sounds like you have a very romantic idea that going there will cement your confidence and you’ll rise in people’s estimation. Make sure you’re doing it because of the course and the learning alone

No 'used to' about the MA (Oxon / Cantab / Dublin). Still normal practice.

[AliceAldridge]

I don't like telling people my classification. But I had a DM who thinks I should have done better at University and occasionally it's referred to, in opaque terms. I would probably have moved on if it weren't for this. Do you have something similar going on? Where does this come from?

[Cosyblankets]

This is just madness
You can't just make something up
What purpose would it serve?
Who would benefit?
Why are you lying to yourself?

[gannett]

I genuinely can't imagine adults, let alone people in their 50s, talking about what degree class they got - except in passing or very casually.

Most people who got firsts, and most people who didn't get firsts, will have gone on to much more significant professional or academic successes in their lives. Even if they're the boastful sort, they'd bring up their achievements as adults rather than students.

[3scape]

It is important to learn that finishing things satisfactorily is good, and that good enough is actually a very important idea - things have to be done sometimes, rather than perfected. Achieving reasonably well, whilst dealing with other 'life' stresses is a good thing. You achieved getting through different stresses. Surely THAT is something YOU deserve to feel proud of yourself for. I got a 2:1. Pretty close to a first, but didn't pull off the viva i guess. But i never gave that much thought.

[XelaM]

My brother has a First from Cambridge and no one would ever know because (like for 99.999999% of the population) it never comes up in casual conversation!

[Alonelonelylonersbadidea]

Outside the UK it's mainly meaningless. I work in Europe and do recruitment. Degree classifications on UK CVs always raise eyebrows and questions. No one gives a shit.

You're only lying to yourself and frankly what's more important is the university you went to and the kind of degree.

[Fetchthevet]

You can't lie to yourself though can you? You will always know what you really got. I would be proud of myself if I was you OP. You've become fixated on the idea of having a first, but I bet even if you did get one you would become obsessed with something else, like which uni it came from or how old you were etc. Honestly, you should be very proud of what you do have.

[Duchess379]

I'm laughing my head off. 😂 I feel more accomplished & educated than I am, I left college at 18 with a national diploma in Business Studies. Can I say I have a degree instead?! 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

[Singleorigincoffee]

Please don't lie on your cv to make yourself feel better. You haven't accomplished a first so why would that make you feel more confident!?

There's enough bullshitters at work. Unsurprisingly you'll just come across as one. Sorry to be unkind but you need a reality check. Check yourself and get on with your life with integrity please.

[Duchess379]

@TellingBone

Just told the postie I'm a brain surgeon and that I speak ten languages [including Jedi] and now I feel GREAT

This! 😂👍🏼

[SlatternIsMyMiddleName]

Wanting a first, believing that if circumstances were different you would have got a first - doesn’t change the fact you did NOT get a first.

Catch yourself on.

[Fidgetty]

I just feel like I’m smarter than what my degree classification shows. I don’t believe it’s representative of me and my academic ability. It’s not an excuse (although it kind of is) but I was going through a lot of things at the time of my degree and it messed up my accomplishment. If I had sat the same exam I would have gotten a first.

Im sorry OP but it absolutely IS representative of your academic ability at the time. I got a first while going through a period of enormous upheaval in my life. I spent every spare second studying as I desperately wanted that First. You either didn't commit yourself enough or you simply aren't as academic as you thought. Lying about it is ridiculous as you will inevitably be caught out and will look utterly ridiculous. Let it go. Or get a masters?

[Fidgetty]

I also had a baby under 1 and was pregnant in my final year - there really is no excuse!

[Swirlywoo]

I also had a baby under 1 and was pregnant in my final year - there really is no excuse!

You sound very resilient if you did a degree with a baby and while pregnant (and got a First). Good for you.

But, plenty of very capable people with less resilience miss out on grades because of things happening in their lives. That's not about academic capability.

I don't think the OP should lie, however!