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Is it okay if I say I went to Uni for 3 years on my CV

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If you put the BSc there then you'll be lying as you (presumably from the content of this thread) don't have a BSc. If you pass the first 2 years and fail the last you'll end up with something like a certificate of graduate education or similar so you'd have to state that on your CV.

Anyway, if you get caught lying they can just fire you during your probation period with minimal notice. You'll possibly also be asked to provide your degree certificate to check you're not lying so you could get screwed over there.
If you put down your university, just put down NC in the grade section that way they know that while you attended the course you said, you didn't complete it. While technically not saying anything about grades is not a lie, it is at the very least quite misleading...
Be honest on your CV and in interviews, otherwise, find a way of getting back into uni and finish up a course, that way you won't have to deal with any of this...
I am sure you could put just something like diphe in xyz of you didn't complete full degree


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Original post by HowDoIget4Astars
Under education history I'll just put the 3 years (I did kinda do) and then the Computer Science (BSc) after it with no grade recorded since I dropped out (do you have to put your uni grade down in your cv). I'll even send my cv using the Uni email address I still have or give it to them as a contact reference..

Not really lying is it?

Could always lie in the interview when asked about my grades and say 2:1 or 1st and I doubt they'd have a voice recorder in there to prove I was lying if I get caught.

Seems fool-proof, no?


They would check with uni
Some times it depends on the job, if it was working in a supermarket on the check out they wouldn't batt an eye lid unless they were looking management.

Is there any possibility you could retake modules or go back to uni


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Yeah write down the three years thing but in the interview explain that you dropped out.

Wow them at the interview so much and have a good reason for dropping out and I'm sure it will be fine.
You can be charged with fraud by misrepresentation. I saw an article where some graduate lied about her final grade and actually got jail time, so there is a precedent for that

What job is this for? If it's anything like a grad job they'll hire a firm to do an in-depth background check and they WILL catch you out
Ask yourself is the lie worth it, could you put pending and do extra year and complete the degree


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Original post by Chlorophile
Incredibly stupid idea.


Employers rant bothered about grades they want to know if you can work as a team, solve problems and meet deadlines. I've never put grades or subjects on my CV, I just put the year start and ended and the title of the degree. It's up to the interviewer to ask about your course. I would recommend you to try part time seasonal work.
Original post by ImTheMedic
Mike Ross...is that you?


Technically Mike didn't update his CV to get into Pearson Hardman, Harvey just took him on and added fake certificates later... but I still chuckled.
The simplest of background checks would show you have no degree. Even if you leave the grade out you're being duplicitous and misleading as you're trying to mislead the employer into believing you have a qualification that you don't have.

So either write NC or omit it completely.
Reply 32
If you get the job, your employer will want to see all of your certificates, which will be a problem if you've told them that you have a degree. If you don't/can't produce a degree certificate, you'll be asked to source a duplicate. There are only so many excuses HR will accept before you lose the job. In many companies you can be sacked without notice during a probationary period and I've had to sack someone for lying on their CV.

You would also have to find a way of not including a reference from anyone who knew you at uni, as they're bound to mention you dropping out without a degree. If you're relatively near the date you left uni and you don't have much of an employment record yet, this will make life very tricky.

I dropped out of a degree. I always put it on my CV with the dates I was actually at the uni, followed by "(not complete)". That way I wring a few brownie points out of it but I'm not telling a lie which is likely to bite me in the backside at some point.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 33
Yeah, when they ask for a copy of your degree certificate before you begin working for them, you'll be found out. Big firms also do background checks and would want an academic reference if it was your first job.

Honesty is a the best policy and you should mark the degree as incomplete so as not to look dishonest. If you want to overcome the drop out label the best thing to do is say you are credit transferring to the Open University to finish the degree. Even if you choose not to finish it later, you're keeping doors open.
Reply 34
on my cv have all kinds of BS about PHDs and traveling to rural Africa building schools etc.. also put that I've been in a few box office films. LOL I remember at an interview telling the interviewer I had an album coming out and to look out for it in HMV.. she was ridiculously impressed.. got the job but quit after a week.

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Original post by HowDoIget4Astars
Under education history I'll just put the 3 years (I did kinda do) and then the Computer Science (BSc) after it with no grade recorded since I dropped out (do you have to put your uni grade down in your cv). I'll even send my cv using the Uni email address I still have or give it to them as a contact reference..

Not really lying is it?

Could always lie in the interview when asked about my grades and say 2:1 or 1st and I doubt they'd have a voice recorder in there to prove I was lying if I get caught.

Seems fool-proof, no?


It's not lying if you "forget" to include that you didn't finish uni, that's just being crafty.

Just say e.g. BSc Computer Science 2011 - 2014
Talk about modules you studied etc.

However a lot of people will ask you what did you get and grad schemes will filter you out or request to enter your degree classification grade, at which point you'll be lying if you tell them you got anything else than nothing cuz you didn't finish.
Sorry, if you didn't get the certificate, you didn't get the degree. For jobs that actually want graduates you'll 100% have to show the certificate as well.

I believe one year at uni is equal to a Diploma in Higher Education or something so you do have some sort of qualification from it. Under that you can probably put some of the modules you studied from the entire time you were there.
(edited 9 years ago)

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