AIBU to still regret getting a 2:1 instead of a first?

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It’s been 10 years since I graduated from university and I still can’t shake off the regret that I got a 2:1 and not a first. I know that a 2:1 is perfectly fine for the vast majority of jobs and nothing to be ashamed of, my more and more people have gotten firsts for the past 20 years or so. When I graduated in 2016, about 33% of humanities graduates from my uni got firsts. I just felt so stupid, incapable, inadequate….. I know people say that grades and numbers can’t define us, but I sort of did let it.

I still can’t shake off this horrible regret that I didn’t get one. I got a high first in my second year and was so pleased, I genuinely loved my subject and had applied myself. In my final year (which largely determines degree class where I went), I became quite depressed and stressed. I could never focus and never really adequately prepared for my exams. I just can’t stop wishing that I had pulled myself together in some way.

Some of you, if you read this far, might think, “well if you have a decent job, nobody gives a damn what degree you got”, and yes, fair. Yet there are certain supposedly ‘elite’ jobs where a first is strongly preferred, and I think not getting one ruined my chances of those.

Anyway, if anyone else has ever felt the same way, or knows someone who does, and wants to share ideas or experiences, maybe that will be helpful.

Hmm maybe, but I think a first from Durham can open more doors.

10 years down the line, I'd hope the vast majority of graduates (Cambridge, Durham or otherwise) have more interesting things to talk about than their degree grade. Those things are likely to open even more doors.

I agree

I got a 2:1 as a 39 year old adult student

At first I was annoyed with myself then remembered that during my degree my sons father walked out, covid happened and I had to defer to home school, and then a very close parent suddenly died very unexpectedly

I still have a niggle when I see my graduation photo but give my head a wobble that I even managed to keep going!

This was exactly how it was when I graduated!

I have since been laughed at for having a 2.1 (apparently it makes me a failure) despite graduating top of my class in a top university.

Who laughed at you?

I got a desmond.
Never did me any harm. I would have killed for a 2:1, but on going into finals we were told that as it was the first year of our course there would be no firsts, regardless of how well we did.

I went to UEA graduated 1983, results were pinned on a notice board outside Senate house. Three firsts in my year, one of them was Sarah Gilbert who headed the group at Oxford that developed the COVID vaccine.

You can't change the past no matter how yoh dwell on it. That is life, full if I wish, if onlys. Has life been so awful to you that you cannot accept something from so long ago.

There is such a big gap between scraping a 2:1 and just missing out on a first so I feel for you if you just missed out. I was comfortably in the middle. I worked out in my last semester that I had to get full marks to get a first or completely bomb to get put down to a 2:2, so I accepted my 2:1 and had quite an easy last semester.

I think regretting a 2:2 is probably more common as it can damage your prospects of applying for many graduate schemes.

When I graduated in 1980, no one on my course had EVER got a first in over 100 years, but those were the days when only exceptional people were awarded firsts.

But you said you tried starting in a glamorous career, but felt intimidated by the competition. I don’t think getting a First would change that.

In recent years there has been a big increase in the number of firsts awarded, mostly by the less prestigious universities, in the hope of attracting more students. The best universities, ie the Russell Group universities, have not seen this big increase. There have been moves to abolish the classification of degrees as being irrelevant.

At least you didn’t get a 2:2 like me!

The number of firsts has increased across the board
Also , just want to mention that not all RG universities are the best universities .

I got a First, and award for the highest scoring graduate in my year. Then I went on to get a Masters (a Distinction with commendation), then a PhD (struggled, eventually passed). Basically, nobody really cared or cares. I'm in a mid-paying job, working my arse off, without much job security, and few promotion opportunities. My take is: if a First matters so much to you, go ahead and get one, but know that most people, and employers. sadly, couldn't care less.

I didn’t pass my 11 plus.
I have an MA.
Neither of these matter now - I’m retired and have always been happy.
just let it go…

One of my most successful friends got a 2.2 and another didn’t go to uni.

As someone who never had a degree. I took a Higher National BTEC Diploma instead - It matters not one jot what qualifications you have unless the entry requirements specifically ask for it. But most employers up until recently used to overlook qualifications if they thought you were the right person for the job. Now AI pre-filters out you out so you don't even stand a chance.

I have had the greatest career in tech, for many many years, when my CV went back out there, there would be a queue of people waiting to recruit me every time, but now AI and the recruiters within large organisations have set the criteria so I am pre-filtered out, and I am considered old and obsolete as a female and quite a few years before I was 50 (say 40/41 ish).

Best advice, do your own thing. Create your own career opportunities. Ageism is rife in today's world.

Stop this thinking OP. I work in a specialised finance field. I’ve never given a candidate’s first degree grade any thought. I trust our TA team to shortlist based on the criteria we’ve agreed and evaluate candidates on their merits. A degree grade rarely defines a person.

Try not to talk yourself down. It’s ok to still not know what you want to do. Ogilvy was a 38 year old college dropout when he stumbled into advertising after stints as a chef, salesman and general meanderer. See what he achieved.

Stay positive and curious. Enjoy teaching for now but stay open for opportunities. See what the future holds for you.

This!

PhD interviews many years later

The interviewers laughed at you for having a 2.1? Why?

I got a 2.1 from a bog standard uni and then went straight in to my PhD at a very impressive blah blah university. The other PhD candidates had Masters degrees (I couldn't afford one) and they were pretty miffed at my presence, but I never had a supervisor comment on my degree grade so it sounds like you came across some twattish interviewers.

I got a 2:1 25 yrs ago and only a handful got a first. 33% getting a first is not normal. I worked hard for my degree and Im proud of it. People just have different skills and its not necessarily to do with intelligence. Some people have very good memories, stay more chill in exams, or maybe they were lucky with Qs asked. I think OP needs to stop torturing themselves about something they cannot change.

Degree grade doesn’t matter too much once you start work. My son (31) got a 2.1 and is earning £140k alongside others with similar grades and some with 1sts. It might get you a foot in more doors but after that it’s down to the individual.