Locating:your university/college degrees

[shootingstar]

%$#^$%^@^%%^@R#%^@ An organization is asking for my original university degrees. All of them. I have 2.

Now I have to locate them. :p
No I've never framed/hung them on wall.

I graduated from university.... over 1/4 century ago. :rolleyes:
Sigh. Don't underestimate those pieces of paper. Yes, I have my transcripts, but really.. the rare imposters, spoil it for all of us honest folks.

[redrhodie]

I'm so sorry! I can relate. I think I looked at mine once right when I got it. Finding it would be stressful. Lucky for me, no one will ever ask me to see my BFA! :D

[tulip]

Can't you just get transcripts and other paperwork from your university?

[redrhodie]

Can't you just get transcripts and other paperwork from your university?

They want to see her diploma! Weird. I think that would be easier to forge than the transcripts. :rolleyes:

[divingbiker]

All three of mine are in my cedar chest, never to be looked at again most likely.

[shootingstar]

They want to see her diploma! Weird. I think that would be easier to forge than the transcripts. :rolleyes:

I would agree. I will be taking a stab at this..before going transcript route as a last resort. I saw my degrees before I did my massive home packing when I moved to Vancouver from Ontario.

For this organization, it is a matter of procedure..they are used to doing this. Their organization is full of employees and also deals with their stakeholder clients who are registered/certified professionals themselves.

Anyway, so far I've located my sundresses that I sewed from eons ago which I can still fit from...27 yrs. ago. :):rolleyes: Still looking for the hiding spot.

Aiyaaaah, even having alot of job experience directly related to my degree, with job titles, that do point to my degree, is not enough....?

[7rider]

I have no idea where mine is.
I don't even know what state it's in.
It could be in Maryland.
I suspect it's in Connecticut at the old family home.

[nolemom]

The transcript route is very easy now that most universities can send them electronically. My institution doesn't even charge a fee if they can be sent electronically. Good luck with the search. I hope you aren't like me and spend way to much time going down memory lane when you are looking for something.

[shootingstar]

The transcript route is very easy now that most universities can send them electronically. My institution doesn't even charge a fee if they can be sent electronically. Good luck with the search. I hope you aren't like me and spend way to much time going down memory lane when you are looking for something.

I paid $40.00CAN and that was pricing at 1/4 century ago for 2 original copies of my transcript each with a watermark for authentication purposes.

I would not expect the university to give me a free electronic one.

Well, it's not really memory lane so far. But have now unearthed 8 brand-new bras I squirrelled away in the big packing. Still can fit them. To me, that's saving some $$$$ for something unrelated to all this. :)

[MartianDestiny]

No way transcripts would be anywhere near $40 today.

Even when I send out official, watermarked, sealed, i's dotted and t's crossed transcripts it's no more than $8 US (normally $2 to $4). And yes, online copies are free, but they are not official. I expect the universities I attended could also get me a copy (official) of my diploma if need be as well (for a small fee of course).

I'd call up the university you are missing and see what they can do. You might be surprised.

[maryellen]

Gosh, this brings back memories. Back in 2003, I had to provide copies of my diplomas for my current job. Very bizarre. Odder still, they fussed about the fact that I couldn't locate my high school diploma (I have a BA and 3 graduate degrees). Bureaucrats gone wild. I was 45 at the time!!!!

[solobiker]

Come to think of it, I don't know where mine are either.

[TsPoet]

This is rather funny - after Irulan posted about the flylady website, I de-cluttered my master bedroom based on recommendations from that site - and found my diploma in the process. It's tattered and stained, but I found it.
Now, where did I put it?

[NoNo]

Mine's sitting in my parents house, still waiting to be fixed. Apparently they goofed on the paperwork and put the wrong second major (Geography with a GIS concentration instead of the proper GIS degree - important since I work in the GIS field). For six years I've been meaning to get it fixed, even have the paperwork to show that I'd added GIS as a major. Do I ever look at the diploma? No, but it bugs me that it's not right. I do know my school will let me reorder diplomas, wouldn't hurt to give your school a call to see if they do the same.

[Crankin]

My Master's degree diploma is sitting right on my desk, in the leather holder thing it came in. I think my B.A. diploma is in a cheap picture frame in the closet, in the same room.
Have no idea where my HS diploma is.
When I get my second master's that I am working on now, it will go on the wall of my office...

My son shoved his college diploma in the back of his car (a scary place) for like 2 years. When he finally gave it to me for framing, it had a mark on it. So, I framed it and put it up in his room, in our house, instead of giving it back to him, to lose in his apartment. Now, when anyone sees it, I tell them, "There is the 75K piece of paper..."

[tulip]

When I was job searching in Europe, I had to produce copies of my diplomas. Never have I been asked to prove my degrees in the US, however.

My BA diploma is in a flat box along with one of my Masters diplomas and a professional certification. My other Masters diploma came in a fake leather book, which is great because it's protected. I've never framed them, but I keep meaning to. When I finish out my cottage in the backyard as my office, I'll frame them and put them there. I think I would find it odd to have them hanging in my house, but appropriate in a separate office.

[SheFly]

Call the registrar's office of the school you went to - for a fee, they will send you a new diploma.

I got married still in university, and received my diploma with my married name on it. When I was divorced, it was important to me to have that changed to my maiden name (since I did 3.5 years of my degree before getting married). I called the registrar, and they re-issued my diploma (This was Univ of Waterloo).

Good luck!

SheFly

[shootingstar]

Of interest to folks, particularily recent graduates:

Your original degree..is a legal document.
This is the response I received when contacting my alma mater. They only issue a copy/photocopy.

And I did hear of a case where a woman was denied a job offer because she claimed she graduated with her MA...when actually she was about to be given it in about 3 months. Of course, release of transcript only happens parallel with granting of degree, as we graduates know already.

The electronic revolution will never replace this..plus birth certificate, passport, etc.

Any interested employer can do a search and find references of my involvement via professional associations where I've been a member, and references to articles I've written for the Internet. If you can pick me out from other folks with same name.

[roadie gal]

My college and med school diplomas are both in the original cardboard tubes that they came in, at the back of my closet. I'm afraid that if I ever took them out they'd crumble.

About 20 years ago I had to send my original med school diploma to a state where I was applying for a license. I discovered that the diploma had been lost in one of my moves. The school replaced it, for a fee. But, since it had been about 10 years since I graduated, the school administrators had changed. So the new diploma has completely different signatures that the "original original". It also has a big red stamp on the bottom saying "this original replaces the original that was lost". It's not pretty, but it works.

[OakLeaf]

I had a solo practice for a while, so I framed my college and law school diplomas. They're in a box in my storage room now. I've never been asked for either of them. When I applied to law school they needed a transcript, not a diploma. I don't remember the exact procedures for applying for admission to the Bar (either state or federal courts), but I know a diploma wasn't involved, even though formal legal education is required in my state.

My high school diploma is in a manila folder with other keepsakes from my high school graduation, including the typed remarks by my favorite teacher (now deceased) who spoke for me at my graduation - which I value much more than the diploma itself. Although it makes me wistful that I never fulfilled the promise he saw in me. :(

[shootingstar]

I have no idea where my high school diploma is.
But I kept the original of my Gr. 1 report card.....:p because it does show my student adjustment/effort....I was in cultural shock..learning English starting in kindergarten even though I am born and raised in Canada.

Never been to Asia yet. So yea, my birth certifcate, passport...is of value for other things.

Well, geez, folks. Remember, President Barack Obama has a copy of birth certificate on the Internet for naysayers who don't believe he's American-born. And still, some folks don't believe it despite the evidence. ::( Pathetic.

So the highest ranking American must allow the law to be broken ....to reveal his birthplace/citizenship. Meanwhile this is against the law for hiring.

Ok. I'm getting off-topic. :p

[MartianDestiny]

Of interest to folks, particularily recent graduates:

Your original degree..is a legal document.
This is the response I received when contacting my alma mater. They only issue a copy/photocopy.

And I did hear of a case where a woman was denied a job offer because she claimed she graduated with her MA...when actually she was about to be given it in about 3 months. Of course, release of transcript only happens parallel with granting of degree, as we graduates know already.

The electronic revolution will never replace this..plus birth certificate, passport, etc.

Any interested employer can do a search and find references of my involvement via professional associations where I've been a member, and references to articles I've written for the Internet. If you can pick me out from other folks with same name.


Um, every college I have ever attended would HAPPILY send out official transcripts of work completed to date even before the degree was awarded. They now of course send out official, final, transcripts for me as a graduate.

A diploma may be a legal document like a birth certificate or a social security card, but I can get official, legal copies of both of those documents that work just as good as the originals if necessary (it's annoying and expensive, but it can be done.) I cannot imagine a diploma is any different. Crap happens, these documents get lost in fires, floods, etc, people aren't told they are SOL forever because of it either.

[sundial]

Of interest to folks, particularily recent graduates:

Your original degree..is a legal document.
This is the response I received when contacting my alma mater. They only issue a copy/photocopy.



So far my employers requested an official transcript that was mailed directly to them from the university. Gee, I don't even know where my diplomas are anyway. I guess I could paint them a diploma if need be.

[SlowButSteady]

I have some rather distinctive diplomas (one is real parchment, in Latin) so I had mine framed for a "glory wall" when I got my final degree. They're nice-looking; I had them matted in the various school colors.

A couple of years ago, I applied to a grad school and had to send transcripts. It was quite easily and inexpensively accomplished on line. Digging up some other stuff for the application process was not, though.

[shootingstar]

After 3 hrs. of focused diggin' around in a storage rm., I found them, the originals.

Sounds ridiculous, but feels like a small victory. Lookin' at these pieces of paper, worth several thousand $$$$$ of sweat and time...is like lookin' at...some photo albums that I came across also.

Have they been useful? Well, one of the degrees has been a minimum requirement for several jobs I've had. Stated in job ads/descriptions.

[redrhodie]

After 3 hrs. of focused diggin' around in a storage rm., I found them, the originals.

Sounds ridiculous, but feels like a small victory.

Yay! No, not ridiculous. Sounds like an accomplishment to me! I avoid my storage room at all costs!