Should I hide my super-senior status?

How bad does it look that I spent 5 years as an undergrad? It's not like I wasn't busy. I double majored in physics and math, minored in computer science, and was 4-year varsity rower. In my 5th year, I studied abroad in a European Studies program and at a business school.

Should I try to hide it on my resume by just listing my graduation date (May 2010) and making a few other small changes, or does it not really matter?

22 Comments
 

I spent 5 years in college too, and I noticed alot of people do the math and say "oh so your graduated in 5 years" and I obviously have my reasons and steered the interview in that direction from there.

You had plenty going on and you were an athlete (well not really, but you could try to play it off like you were). Most competitive college athletes take a red shirt year... so they're graduating in 5 years too.

 

Is that always the case? What about if one changed programs (completely), say engineering to finance and that necessitated 5 years of study (assuming marks are kosher of course)?

‎"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."
 

The people interviewing you weren't born yesterday. They can easily tell the difference between someone undisciplined having to stay an extra year and someone who has a valid and or interesting reason. You don't need to tell them anything bc they can look at your GPA and major to see what type of 5th year they're dealing with. And given how much smaller the job market has been since 08, I don't blame anyone for hiding out in school an extra year to add some weight to their CV.

 

Doesn't matter, I spent 5 years in undergrad and no one gave a shit...

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 
Best Response

No one will care

It's funny the things that students think interviewers care about.

I for one, when interviewing, literally look at the school name, extracurriculars and the random shit at the bottom to see if I have anything in common. I'd rather talk about your golf game in college or your frat party planning abilities for 30 minutes than hear about how your major GPA is better than your total GPA because you took 18 months to adjust to the alcohol intake of undergrad.

At the end of the day, all people care about is if you will work hard and have a good attitude (assuming you have some baseline level of intellect). Honestly, the kids with the 1500+ SAT's that I've seen in the analyst ranks have bad attitudes and do the worst work.

 

This is a great post. I took my time in college, got decent grades, crushed girls, and got real fratty. Landed a great job as an associate and continue to get asked to leave my bulge bracket firm for private equity. People do not want an office full of kids that sat around in the dorms and threw beats all day.

 

DJ Libor are you the kid that kept his dorm room door open and watched all the drunk kids parade out to parties and bars while you studied for calculus tests that I didnt study for and managed to ace.

 

Voluptate sit similique sapiente quod. Suscipit quibusdam quasi corporis molestiae. Quia voluptas voluptas ratione et eius quae quo rerum. Odio maxime optio sunt minus nam quibusdam molestiae.

Eveniet rerum dolor porro. Minus magnam similique totam. Voluptatum fuga reiciendis fugiat a vero laudantium id ut. In dolor optio dignissimos ut exercitationem velit.

 

At provident ab aliquam autem est eaque nesciunt. Voluptas est necessitatibus ut reprehenderit accusamus quaerat. Dolor vel sint et aut minus fuga corporis. Est dolorem at molestias deleniti itaque.

Et illo odit in veniam itaque esse pariatur. Minima est vel nihil quo qui rerum. Fuga repellat et dolores eum aut error. Non incidunt molestiae est facilis a quidem aliquid ratione. Eos magnam a saepe. Cum harum voluptate ipsum quia quam cupiditate.

Qui totam commodi odio et. Voluptatem magni et veritatis voluptas. Ut aut qui est quisquam vel modi illum non. Ea labore voluptatem quia quaerat iste eum. Veritatis quo voluptates est tempore illo pariatur ipsum. Atque esse non iste quia. Accusamus velit quia consequatur quia quae voluptatem dolorum.

Impedit qui ut magni enim rerum. Voluptatibus nam ea molestias distinctio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”