I'm in college. Should I take the GED?

November 6, 2007 7:19 PM

I'm in college. Should I take the GED?

Through an awkward series of events, I finished high school years ago but never received my diploma. Officially, I have an incomplete in one class. I had already been accepted to a few colleges before I finished high school, and somehow not getting my HS diploma didn't cause problems with starting college. I should be graduating with a Bachelor's degree this spring.

I could pass the GED and get an equivalency diploma very easily. I'm registered to take it this weekend...but suddenly I'm worried.

The main reason I'm planning to take the GED is to cover myself if I apply for jobs that require (possibly even in a pro forma sense) applicants to have a HS diploma or GED. (I mean, right now I can't say that I am a HS graduate on job applications, even though I don't fit the mold of a typical HS dropout.) While I know that a GED isn't always looked at the same way as a diploma, I feel like (and hope) that having a bachelor's degree from a good college will make it less of an issue.

Is there any way getting a GED (which I assume would show up on background checks) would hurt me either in the job market or academically (if I eventually pursue grad school), compared to my current situation? I'm not planning to emphasize that I got a GED when I apply to jobs (I'll emphasize the BA instead), but will it cause major problems if potential employers see that I took the GED? For various reasons, trying to negotiate with my high school to remove the incomplete and get a diploma from them is not an option I'm willing to consider.

Since this is anonymous, I made a throwaway email in case anyone wants to contact me privately: [e-mail]

posted by anonymous to work & money (23 comments total)

There are adult diploma programs that offer full diplomas and not equivalents. Just an FYI. Narrow the google search geographically to find one near you.

Usually they throw proms, too, which I've heard are crazy fun.
posted by The Straightener at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2007

I really can't imagine how having a GED would hurt you, and your BA should make the issue irrelevant anyway. It's not too typical to put one's high school status or grades on one's resume, and it's unlikely an employer would even think to check up on it, especially if your BA checks out.
posted by xil at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2007

I took the GED 10 years ago, when applying to college, and I don't think anyone has asked for a GED score or high school diploma since.

Employers just care about the BA, as far as I can tell. That's what goes on your resume, after all.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2007

I don't think it will hurt you. I'm not sure it would make a difference at all - the BA is what employers will most likely be looking at.
posted by streetdreams at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2007

If you want to get a job in education then getting the GED would be a good idea as they actually care about secondary education. But, if you want a job that pays well for the work then you shouldn't have to worry about this with a BA to back you up.
posted by munchingzombie at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2007

Once you have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, no one will care where, or if, you went to high school.

It's not like you put high school on your resume, even.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2007

Hey! You're me 32 years ago! No one's asked yet, but I live my life in abject terror that someone will realize that I'm a High School Dropout!!!!
With, like, an MBA.
posted by Floydd at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think you may be taking the high school graduate thing a bit too literally. That term usually means minimum level of education completed. You'll have a BA, that makes the high school diploma a non-issue. Even if you indicate that you didn't graduate on job applications, I would be surprised if anyone even read past the college info.

I don't know what field you're going into, but applications are pretty rare for jobs, other than admin work and gov. work.

You might want to see how things go in the job search before taking the GED. I don't think you'll need it and I'll bet your BA despite your lack of HS diploma will make for an interesting, memorable story to tell interviewers, should it come up.
posted by necessitas at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2007

The only far flung situation where I could see this being a problem is if you took AP or IB classes for college credit while in high school that you then applied to your current BA. Essentially you would need your high school transcripts in some situations to prove your BA, however, this seems pretty unlikely to me. You could always just submit yours scores and most colleges note AP credits on your transcript (at least that's what I seem to remember). Bizarrely when I applied for a government legal job I had to send them a copy of my high school diploma, but the government can be weird like that and to be honest I bet if I had *forgot* and just sent my college transcripts nothing would have happened. So basically there may be some incredibly random situation where you would need to produce it, but I wouldn't worry that much. And I can't think of anyway that getting a GED could hurt you.
posted by whoaali at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2007

I'm a high-school dropout with a BA, and my dropout status has, if anything, helped me when applying for jobs, even though it doesn't come up until I fill out a formal application. (I don't bring it up myself.) At worst, it's neutral, but some interviewers really latch on to it as a positive.

I think it would be more of an issue with government employers, however.
posted by backupjesus at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2007

My only concern would be your application for graduation from college. This process is a review of your transcripts from the registrar in your last quarter/semester to verify that you have fulfilled all of your requirements for receiving your bachelor's degree. They check to make sure you got taken that lab class, foreign language class, and writing requirements as well as having enough academic credits. They might look to make sure they have your high school transcript too?

But how unusual for you to get this far and the tripped up on that bit of paperwork. I don't know how to proceed, just something to keep in mind...
posted by dendrite at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2007

I've been in the exact same position, you might as well get it, it takes one afternoon, and you get to see another side of life in the process.
posted by kanemano at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2007

Years after I graduated I had nightmares about not really having finished. I guess this is pretty common, almost universal.

if you really feel haunted by the idea, perhaps you could get your high school to accept a transfer credit from your BA program, or even let you take a correspondence course.

I met a couple of people in graduate school who were home schooled and had no high-school record at all. I don't think any of them had GEDs. I know that they were both proud of being self-educated.

There's something kind of bad-boy sounding about being a drop out. Are you sure you want to join the rest of us?
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2007

I can't think of a way it would hurt, or even affect, you in the eyes of a future employer or grad school. I have a bachelor's and no HS degree (or GED), and it's never been a problem; I know a number of other people in similar situations. AFAICT, people look at the most advanced / most recent parts of your education and don't really care about the rest of it.

(Is there really that much of a stigma attached to a GED? Or is it just that a GED suggests some oddness to your history, and people might think that you must have dropped out of school because you were a druggie / murderer / ran away to join the army / circus / Grateful Dead / etc.?)
posted by hattifattener at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2007

I know several people with Ph.Ds who have no high school diploma. In general, once you've achieved a bachelors, nobody cares about your high school experience. As long as you are in no danger of not completing your degree, taking the GED is a waste of time.
posted by jacobbarssbailey at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2007

You may want to contact your high school. You might have a college class that you can use to cover your incomplete. Be careful of double dipping, don't use a class that you need toward your graduation.
posted by Foam Pants at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

I can't believe no one's suggested you go back to your high school and see if they can erase that incomplete and issue you a diploma, especially since you're ready to graduate college. It's worth a try isn't it??
posted by infinityjinx at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

The main reason I'm planning to take the GED is to cover myself if I apply for jobs that require (possibly even in a pro forma sense) applicants to have a HS diploma or GED.

That will never happen. If it does happen, it's probably not a job you would want, anyway.

And, as I have been surprised to learn, there are a lot of people with college degrees and graduate degrees who, for one reason or another, never finished high school. I've never heard of it hurting anyone.
posted by jayder at 10:53 PM on November 6, 2007

quick question - how can you go to college/get an mba/phd if you don't have a ged? just curious!: )
posted by citystalk at 11:09 PM on November 6, 2007

I taught a GED prep-class. The GED itself is incredibly easy, or at least it should be if you're smart enough to get a bachelor's degree. It won't hurt to get a prep book since at this point you might be rusty on 9th/10th grade math (which appears to be around where the GED focuses).

What I am guessing, though, is if this is just because you are worried about filling out job applications, don't do it. I don't think it's going to look remarkably better that you have your GED. In fact, it will look bad because it suggests that you're a clever person who can't commit to a structured environment. If you don't mention HS at all but have the BA to write down, they will just assume that, like most people, you felt that high school sucked and you want to forget about it as much as possible.
posted by Deathalicious at 3:01 AM on November 7, 2007

quick question - how can you go to college/get an mba/phd if you don't have a ged? just curious!: )

My uncle started college when he was 16 and never finished high school because it was just too easy for him -- they had ran out of math and science classes for him to take. He finished his BA, and went to get a Ph.D at Harvard.

I think in these kind of cases some colleges just don't care if you have a high school diploma, if you are obviously qualified. And once you have a BA, nobody cares.
posted by puffin at 3:57 AM on November 7, 2007

I can't believe no one's suggested you go back to your high school and see if they can erase that incomplete and issue you a diploma, especially since you're ready to graduate college. It's worth a try isn't it??


You may want to contact your high school. You might have a college class that you can use to cover your incomplete. Be careful of double dipping, don't use a class that you need toward your graduation

I agree - try calling your HS.
posted by doorsfan at 1:48 PM on November 7, 2007

follow-up from the OP

OP here. Thanks for your input, guys. I think I'm going to go ahead
with taking the test this weekend.

BTW, it seems like some of you missed the bit where I wrote "For
various reasons, trying to negotiate with my high school to remove the
incomplete and get a diploma from them is not an option I'm willing to
consider." They were unwilling to give me high school credit for
classes taken anywhere else, regardless of whether the classes were
also used toward a college degree or not, and these are folks I'd
really rather not deal with beyond something like sending them a
college transcript at this point. It's a very very conservative
parochial school and I have left the fold.
posted by jessamyn at 4:05 PM on November 7, 2007