Help! Graduation Date Doesn't Match Dates Attended

[Ann361]

I have a graduation date issue that is... not good.

 

Here's the rundown:

 

I finished my coursework at a large university in May of 2009.  The final paper for an upper level course was due after I was to start intensive training sessions in a new city for an internship program.  The professor granted me an extension on the paper.  That summer, I finished the paper, sent off a paper copy (I know, I know) to the professor and never looked back.

 

Fast-forward 4 years - I requested a transcript for review because I was starting to think about applying for my Master's.  I was shocked and overwhelmed to find that the grade for my paper had never been submitted and I was technically not matriculated. 

 

  It took nearly a (very nerve-wracking) year  of my following up with my professor to submit the grade and then the registrar's office to follow through with the paperwork.  This is in addition to 2 other giant mistakes on my transcript that I had specifically met with a registrar pre-graduation to sort out (having do to with transferred credits).

 

Fast forward again this year, as I'm applying for my MA, I've noticed that my graduation date is May 2013, rather than 2009, since they technically awarded my diploma last year.   I am going to  meet with the school to try and get this sorted out, though I am aware this is partially my fault for not checking on the paper and I also don't have high hopes given their unresponsiveness with my previous problem. 

 

Assuming that they tell me tough luck - how and where do I explain this descrepancy to graduate schools?  I am willing to take partial responsibility, but I am terrified this will completely ruin my chances.

 

Help!

[TakeruK]

I think it will be pretty tough to convince them to change your degree date back to 2009 instead of 2013. However, this is not going to be super terrible, in my opinion, for grad school applications because your transcript will clearly show that you finished all but one course in 2009. Grad schools have similar issues often--for example, at my school, degrees are only awarded once per year, in June. So, you have to defend by May 30 or something in order to get a PhD in June of the same year. If you finish over the summer, e.g. you might defend and finally submit your thesis in August 2014 but this means your PhD will still say June 2015. In this case, you get a letter from the school saying so-and-so finished all their degree requirements in August 2014 so that you can show any potential employer the letter! 

 

So, perhaps you can get something official like that from your school too if they refuse to change the degree date. You aren't in the exact same situation since you didn't actually finish all the degree requirements until May 2013 according to their records! But it's worth a try to ask if they will provide you a letter explaining the issue that you can attach or show to any grad school that needs to know.

 

Alternatively, almost all applications will allow you to attach an extra document to explain any weird situations. I would write this up as a separate letter, explaining the situation in your own words (but briefly--don't discuss any fault by you or the school, just state the fact that there was a mistake in the records for one course that was not sorted out until May 2013). Then, I would attach it to the application in the appropriate place. It might worth a single sentence in your SOP referring to this attached document if you are worried about it, but otherwise I wouldn't make a huge deal of it. Transcripts show the date of courses and that should be proof enough to show that you would have graduated in 2009!

[bsharpe269]

I dont really see why this would be a big deal. Jsut put the dates you actually attended and if the school MA program asks about the dates then explain that there was an error that was resolved so the date reflects when it was resolved. I doubt the school will ask or care, they probably just want to see your degree.

[Ann361]

Thanks so much for the responses and reassurance.  It puts my mind at ease to know these issues are fairly common.

 

I think writing my own supplementary letter and requesting one from the school are great ideas.  One of the schools I'm applying to requires a rigorous interview with the admissions committee, so I want to make sure my bases are covered if it comes up.

 

If there are additional opinions on this floating around that oppose this, please let me know!

 

Thanks again!

[nugget]

When they see your transcript and the dates you took the courses, they will know that it didn't actually take you several years to complete the degree and there was only one outstanding course. I don't think it's anything to worry about. You could have waited a few years to complete that course for any number of reasons. ie: pregnancy, relocation (spouse found a new job), health problems (a serious medical condition), financial difficulties, etc... The list goes on.

 

Since the course work was completed a few years ago and the grading error was not your fault, I believe you have strong grounds to appeal and have the completion date back dated to the time you actually completed the course. If I misread your post and the course completion date is fine and you are only concerned about the graduation date then ignore what I just wrote.

 

I not optimistic that you will get the graduation date changed. Most schools require you to submit a formal request to graduate so that someone can double check that you have met graduation requirements before your degree is conferred. Usually the deadline is a few months before you are able to complete all of your coursework and it gets done sometime after you finish all of your courses. Even if the last course was completed on time, your degree would still not be conferred unless you put in a request to graduate (since they don't know your intentions - sometimes people decide to take extra courses before graduating).

 

I don't think it will negatively impact you when applying to grad school. It might catch someone's eye on your resume when applying for a job, though, and a prospective employer might assume that you did your degree part time. But you're going to grad school anyway, so the most important thing an employer will be looking at is your graduate level studies.  

 

At your interviews for grad programs, I'd simply state that you didn't put in an official request to graduate because of x reason (ie: didn't know it was needed and assumed you had graduated because the coursework was completed) if you are asked about it. If the course completion date is back dated to 2009, then I don't think it's necessary to get into everything else you explained here. Just keep your explanation clear and simple and I think you'll be fine.

Edited May 29, 2014 by jenste

[TakeruK]

The reason I would be concerned if I was in the OP's shoes was that since the official degree date is 2013, that means I would have to write on my CV that I got my degree in 2013 (and potentially show something like 2005-2013 at undergrad school, or it will look weird when full time work experiences pop up in the CV between 2009 and 2013). Or, when I fill in your "education history" in the application, I would have to write start date "Sept 2005", end date "May 2013", which would appear weird. 

 

Like I said above though, it's not going to negatively impact anything but it would be useful to have a note attached to explain that you actually finished in 2009. I think a personal note from yourself is sufficient (no explanation really needed even) and the transcript should be enough proof to show that you did finish all your courses in 2009. 

 

In summary--the fact that this happened isn't going to negatively impact you and I don't think any grad school will care that for some reason (explained or not), you got your degree 4 years after your last course was finished. However, I think it's worth a mention so that at first glance, it does not seem like you took 8 years to finish a bachelor's degree.

[nugget]

The reason I would be concerned if I was in the OP's shoes was that since the official degree date is 2013, that means I would have to write on my CV that I got my degree in 2013 (and potentially show something like 2005-2013 at undergrad school, or it will look weird when full time work experiences pop up in the CV between 2009 and 2013). Or, when I fill in your "education history" in the application, I would have to write start date "Sept 2005", end date "May 2013", which would appear weird.

 

Well I don't think it will look weird. I actually took 7 years to get my bachelor's degree because I worked full time and went to school part time, so I think this is how it would appear to others at first glance. However, you do want to make it clear to grad committees that you went to school full time and completed your course work in 4 years so that they don't have any concerns about your ability to handle a full time course load and still do well at school. When it comes to prospective employers, I think they will just assume you worked while completing your studies and it would be less of an issue.   

 

If you need to submit a cv for your grad applications, I think that if you indicate the year you completed your degree as well as the year it was conferred it should be fine. ie: X University   2005-2009  (degree completed: 2009; degree awarded: 2013)   

Edited May 30, 2014 by jenste

[TakeruK]

Well I don't think it will look weird. I actually took 7 years to get my bachelor's degree because I worked full time and went to school part time, so I think this is how it would appear to others at first glance. However, you do want to make it clear to grad committees that you went to school full time and completed your course work in 4 years so that they don't have any concerns about your ability to handle a full time course load and still do well at school. When it comes to prospective employers, I think they will just assume you worked while completing your studies and it would be less of an issue.   

 

If you need to submit a cv for your grad applications, I think that if you indicate the year you completed your degree as well as the year it was conferred it should be fine. ie: X University   2005-2009  (degree completed: 2009; degree awarded: 2013)   

 

I agree that if you did the school in 4 years full time, it makes sense to want to make it clear for all the reasons you said! 

 

I suppose that "weird" was not the right word for me to use. Basically what I meant was what you wrote here