Can I omit educational experience from my resume?

October 20, 2009 6:17 AM

Can I leave out some educational background from my resume? I went to a university, then transferred and got a degree from another university. Will it harm me if I only list the university I got a degree from?

I went to an Ivy League university for three years, felt burned out, and left. I didn't fail out, nor was I academically disciplined. In the end, a year later I transferred to another university and eventually graduated from there. I don't really wish to explain to employers why I left, nor are any of the jobs I'm applying for really relevant to the exact content of my education. Will it hurt for employment purposes if I omit that I went to the other school from my resume? If I am hired and they find out later, could there be potentially negative consequences?

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (14 answers total)

I left college after my first year, worked for the next academic year, and then transferred to another college. In all my resumes since, I have only included the institution from which I received my degree, since it is not only the most relevant information but the information employers are looking for. It's never been an issue.

If potential employers wonder why I graduated from college five years after graduating from high school, they are welcome to ask, and if they call my degree-granting university and see that I transferred, they are free to ask me for more information. You're not concealing anything; your are giving the information that you were asked for.

I also think there's another reason to only list the institution you received your degree from: you want to make your resume as clear and concise as possible. Adding information that's not necessary or helpful is potentially distracting, confusing, and takes up a line of space that would be better devoted to your skills and accomplishments.

Hope this helps!
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 6:37 AM on October 20, 2009

I should have added -- if employers want to know what other institutions you attended, and why you left, which I doubt they will, you have no obligation to tell them you were depressed and burnt out. You can say you needed to raise money for school, that you wanted to be closer to family, or any other perfectly understandable reason. If the prospective employer doesn't let it go at that point, that's a red flag. They should care about your qualifications for the position you are applying for in the present. This wasn't a felony, it was a positive choice that allowed you to complete your education. You don't have anything to be ashamed about, and you shouldn't feel like you should.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 6:40 AM on October 20, 2009

If you say "BS in XXX from BlahBlah University, 2002," where BlahBlah actually is the university granting the degree, you should have no problems whatever. Relevant experiences seem to be more important these days than the circumstances under which you got your sheepskin (and that's a good thing, in my opinion).
posted by Pragmatica at 6:41 AM on October 20, 2009

Just list the graduating university on your resume and it will be fine.
posted by the_ancient_mariner at 6:43 AM on October 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I took sixteen years to get a BS degree and had credits from four different schools in two states. My resume just lists the school that I actually graduated from, no employer has ever asked or cared about the others.
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 AM on October 20, 2009

I went to an Ivy League university for three years, felt burned out, and left

I took two years off University in the middle of my undergraduate degree because I felt a strong desire to travel, work, and otherwise experience "the real world". That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As for the specific details of your academic career, they will not hesitate to ask (as would be the case if you were applying for Grad School).
posted by philip-random at 7:46 AM on October 20, 2009

Those suggesting only listing the degree-granting university, I don't think that's what the asker is driving at. The asker wants to only list the ivy league school, not the other, degree-granting university. In that case, I would feel obligated to list them both, since the ivy league school didn't grant you a degree, and representing or implying that they did would be obscuring the truth a little too much for my tastes.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:12 AM on October 20, 2009

On a resume I don't see why that would be a big deal. If you have to fill out some sort of HR paperwork listing your past educational institutions, it would probably be a bad idea to leave it off of that.
posted by toomuchpete at 8:13 AM on October 20, 2009

Oh, on review, I guess the asker asked both questions. I agree, listing just the school that granted you your degree is fine. Just listing the other is not.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:13 AM on October 20, 2009

Most people just list their degree and the university it was from. I would only list any other schools if you have any career-enhancing courses or certificates from them.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:06 AM on October 20, 2009

Sorry, when you said "omit that I went to the other school" I didn't realize you may have meant the school from which you actually graduated. In which case, craven_motorhead probably makes the best call.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 9:07 AM on October 20, 2009

Like foxy_hedgehog said, you don't have to mention feeling burnt out. And if you don't, including the Ivy League school could go both ways, I think. It could lead to the question of why you didn't finish there, yes. But it could also be seen as a positive thing, because, well, it's an Ivy League school on your resume! If I were in that situation, I think I'd leave it.
posted by umbú at 12:03 PM on October 20, 2009

The OP is clear in their question that it is the Ivy League school that he or she is thinking of omitting, not the institution that gave the degree.
posted by umbú at 12:05 PM on October 20, 2009

List both. Include your GPA, since you want to indicate that you did well at the Ivy League school. If they ask why you transferred, you can say that pursuing your education at the second school gave you the flexibility to pursue coursework more in line with your needs and goals. In an interview, explain the important life lesson you learned about sunk costs, making tough decisions, and how you continue to do this with your work.

Or just list the school you graduated from, along with the graduation year. Leave out high school. Once you have a degree, most people don't care about your high school.
posted by acoutu at 12:42 PM on October 20, 2009