Looking bad to graduate fast? Very slow?

[Ideas]

I would not show both start and complete dates when it's possible to avoid. However, sometimes an application seems to require both for education. I am curious if employers really care. I am also curious about what people in general think.

For example, if someone has a Bachelor's and they finished in the same year. Started in (early) 2018 and finished in (late) 2018. Do you think employers immediately start to wonder if the degree might be NA or if something else fishy is going on? Then look at the school name and maybe look it up? So then they know it's RA, but wouldn't they be wanting to ask the candidate how they finished so fast? I'm not really worried about it, personally, but I'm curious.

However, personally I wonder about when it's very slow. I feel like technically, I began my degree a long time ago. About 3 of my oldest college credits are used to complete the degree requirements. Technically I think I'd have to show that those degrees (AS and BS) took me way over a decade. But these days, this is common enough, right? Don't worry about it?

I feel like what's odd is I will have a combination of both. The first degrees looking very slow, and then the next ones looking incredibly fast. Not just that it could say 2018-2018 but that it would be multiple degrees all in 2018-2019.


Regarding people in general, I feel that some people I know will assume my degrees were fishy if they know I got multiple degrees in a year, or otherwise went very fast. Assuming that because it was online it must have been easy, that I must have not done that well on pass/fail, etc. I'm thinking I would have to explain how they are self-paced courses and I worked a lot. I don't mind a lot since there's not much I can do, I figure, but I am curious if anyone has interesting thoughts on how to explain to strangers, friends, etc? (I am thinking about this in general because I read something about people assuming online courses are easy to pass, poorly taught, etc.)

[davewill]

I agree as far as volunteering info. I prefer to give no date on my resume, but a recent grad just entering the job market would probably want to specify that they just graduated. As far as the start/end thing, Just give the real date/year you enrolled and you graduated. If questioned, simply say you were a transfer student. If they want more, then you give them more. A lot of people wring their hands around here worrying about whether their degree will be considered "fishy", but I'm proud of mine. If they want to ask, I will happily tell them my story. I am proud that I persevered and got the degree. 

As far as the second degree, etc... once again the truth will set you free. Tell them that you worked your butt off nights and weekends (or whatever) doing lots of extra coursework to earn them in that short a time.

[dfrecore]

You can also say "I transferred in a lot of credits, so it looks like I got the degree very quickly, but in actuality, I've been taking online courses for a long time." You don't have to say WHERE you're taking all of the courses, so they don't have to know about Straighterline, Study.com, etc.

[cookderosa]

I second Dfrecore.

I don't have dates on my resume, BUT sometimes computerized job applications require them. I attended TESU for 12 months, though I worked on that degree for 18 - the first 6 months were independent study.
I would never advise you to lie, but I will admit that I almost always include the full 18 months I worked on my degree AND since I also attended other colleges simultaneously, I put those in there too.

My opinion is if you have any previous college attendance, include it- it shows where your transfer credit comes from and explains the dates. You don't have to include numbers (so what if you only transferred in 6 credits- it's irrelevant), but if you were EVER enrolled somewhere for a semester or two, you can simply write or select the answer that is non/degree - sometimes you can write in "transfer credit" or such. The numbers don't matter, but for the rare person who is actually trying to figure it out, it explains how you can graduate after only a short attendance at your 4-year university.

Also my opinion, but the dates are *possibly* more about when you graduated vs when you started. I think they like to figure out your age unofficially to see if you're what they're looking for.

[Ideas]

Oh yes, that's one reason I don't want to put the old start date (date I got those 3 oldest credits): then they can tell my age.

Good idea to put some under "non-degree" if allowed!

[High_Order1]

I think this is something that would come up if they are thorough. I recommend having an answer that would sate their curiosity and not cause them to probe further.

If they do probe further, honesty.

It is one of the reasons I was ok with getting my four year in two. That sounds reasonable for me, given my past.

But I agree, it's a flag.

[rlw74]

Most employers aren't going to look too close at dates. They might, but I'm guessing lack of work experience and big gaps in employment might raise bigger flags. Except you can probably say you were in school and/or volunteering during that time. Maybe???

Most employers aren't familiar with ACE credits. I'm finding a lot of colleges aren't either. Some know SL and CLEP but that's about it. But, unless an employer ask for ALL your transcript they won't know you got your credits from Shmoop, study, SL etc. On a TESU transcript those just come over as transfer credits anyway. Most just want the final transcript as proof of degree completion. (Some of us have a lot of transcripts so I hope I don't get asked!).

Most employers don't know (or care) that there is a difference between NA vs RA either. NA coursework can be just as grueling as RA coursework. If I were an employer i might be more concerned if it wasn't accredited at all as that just screams "diploma mill" to some. Or, if they specifically state they want an RA degree (which you'll probably find if you work in certain sectors like education).

I'm more concerned with the fact that at some point they'll figure out my age and possibly discriminate because my work experience and education go back too far. But then, I don't want to work for someone like that anyway.