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

[onedayillmoveon]

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.

I went to LSE. Since when was Durham "elite"

To me Tier 1 is Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial and then UCL. And maybe Edinburgh for Scotland

I got a 2:1 and I’ve never really given it a second thought!

I got a very middle 2:1 (so basically got a 2:1 mark on every paper, nothing high, nothing low).

I always feel sorry for people who got a very high 2:1 and just missed out on a first (or perhaps got very high in whatever bracket) and feel they have to say “I got a high 2:1” every time! It must suck to just miss out.

I was a terrible student and could easily have failed.

@onedayillmoveondepends what it’s in and which uni it’s from. Natural sciences from Cambridge, you’re being ridiculous. Media studies from Newport, I can see why you’re annoyed.

neither should define you this long after uni though

Durham is definitely considered as good as those London colleges you’ve listed.

i had a similar experience - “underachieved” and got a 2.1 in my final year, when it counted most, due to MH and other struggles that I’d managed in the previous years. Yes I feel disappointed that I let myself down, but it didn’t close any doors, except for things like phds which I wouldn’t have been suited for anyway. I still went into a highly competitive city job. Years down the line, the most successful people in that job are those with the best “soft” skills - the degree class (and university) become totally irrelevant very quickly.

I get feeling disappointed in yourself but it’s crazy to think not getting a first has somehow shut you out of a number of career trajectories. People I work with come from a huge range of universities and degree classes (and I only really know this from LinkedIn anyway, no one talks about it!)

I’m surprised, you can’t usually do a PGCE with a third.

This just doesn’t resonate for me. I joined a very competitive finance graduate programme in the financial services industry in 2015… and I did so with a 2:1 degree! My husband did the same (different industry!)
I didn’t give a toss what the competition got at university, it never even crossed my mind. It’s confidence that gains you advantage in those scenarios, and in the kindest way, I think you need to work on yours so you can stop beating yourself up.

This isn’t true. I studied for a BEd and got a 2:1. I felt I had been cheated and in the five years that my particularly pathway ran at the university, no one ever got a First. The HoD was not respected and was too weak to argue her case in committee. But I didn’t let it define me and went on to have a successful career in academia. DP took a third and couldn’t care less. He said he just needed the qualification.

Of course it is. When I went it was the number 1 French department in England. I believe it's been considered elite since 1832...

Yes a Distinction, but it’s the equivalent of First at BA level.

For what? When is a third ever useful to anyone?

A Masters is only "better" than an undergrad degree if it's in something an employer is interested in - otherwise it's just another year in education because you couldn't decide what to do - aka a panic Masters.
There is a point at which employers start to see more qualifications as a turn off. I had a CV with 5 degrees 2 Master and a PhD or was it 2 Degrees and 5 Masters and one PhD - and one year of experience - major red flag. Shit needs to get done in business, people need to make decisions, they need to know what they are about or least they need to be able to convince others they know what they are about!

I think I could have got a First, had I been prepared to work a bit harder. Was mildly disappointed to get a 2.1, but, even at the time, I knew I was making a choice to have a bit of fun/play sport/go out as well as do my coursework.

The real shocker was how little not getting a First mattered in the 'real world'. What's more, I realised that the truly accomplished and swtiched-on people I worked with often didn't have a great degree from a great university.

To put it kindly, your grades don't define you. I appreciate it would be a big confidence knock not getting a First, but that's not necessarily going to hold you back. There are usually many routes to different professions.

I know people with Firsts who are in low paid roles. I also know people with barely any GCSEs
who are successful business owners.

My 2:1 degree has been almost useless because it was in a subject that I didn't want to pursue after uni. Professional industry qualifications are more useful and you don't need to go to uni to get them.

Finding it quite amusing the number of people who posted to say having a first doesn't matter but couldn't resist mentioning that they have one.

That said, maybe I'm just bitter as apparently I am a total thicko for only getting a 2:2. I do sometimes wonder how I would have done had my ADHD been diagnosed at the time, but only occasionally. The only galling thing is that I can't even claim I got that because I was having such a great time at uni - I mostly hated it, felt isolated and was at points suicidal. It never hindered me getting a job anyway, not that I am the type to aim for high-flying roles.

My husband, got, gasp, a third and has been way more successful than me in his career. His attitude, skills and attributes have counted far more than his degree classification.

But in no way in shape and form is a 2:1 "preferred" over a first. In what world does an employer see someone who achieved higher and think "oh dear they did too well"

My friends with economics first have done really well for themselves. My friends with 2:1s as well. Still many in finance.

Hi @onedayillmoveon
Do you have not a lot going on in your life?

Humanities from Cambridge

This is the real issue, you wrote yourself off and gave up. It’s nothing to do with your degree classification.
To survive in cut throat high level law, finance or corporate roles, you need to be able to sell yourself, we all have imposter syndrome, but some people are good at hiding it and selling themselves. Honestly, one of the key things I use in corporate, is the years of acting, dance and theatre classes I did as a child. My ballet teacher was so strict, she used to say even if your leotard pings off on stage you keep smiling and carry on the dance, if your feet are bleeding you carry on and you do it with a smile. Our classes were hours of brutal pain and we had to do it with a smile and pretend it was easy and be graceful. This is probably the main thing I have used to progress in my career. My degree was from a low tier university, I got a 2.1. Literally no one had ever asked about it and I don’t use anything from it. It’s nothing to do with academics it’s just knowing how to play the game. Sure to get a foot in the door for a first job it can get you over some hurdles easily, but it’s not the only way in and after that it’s intuition and tenacity.

Depends on the month. At work yes. I’m happy with a quiet life in my free time at the moment.

This refers to the time when firsts were as rare as hen's teeth - 30+ years ago- not now when they are relatively common.

Surely back then if someone achieved a first it should have been as a very significant accomplishment and that maybe they had their head screwed on.

Best drip feed in a while 😂

I mentioned it further up in the thread when someone asked where I went

My son graduated 3 years ago with a 2:2

Several of his coursemates got a First. They are ALL still working in supermarkets / coffee shops etc. Nothing wrong with that obviously, but it’s totally unrelated to the course.

He is currently travelling the world in his dream career and earning very well with fantastic potential.

He concentrated on his portfolio and building contacts and neglected some of the written coursework. The course was very practical, he doesn’t need to write essays to do his job 🤷🏻‍♀️

He’s never been asked for his grade, employers and his colleagues are much more interested in his skillset.

I do understand where you’re coming from. I failed one of my modules at night school doing my post grad degree, which meant I don’t have the professional “qualification”. This was the same year I won a coveted industry award for my job. I worked with people who had the paper qualifications but never won this award.

Really, only your parents and yourself mind about the degree.