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After about a semester and a half I flunked out of college (this was about 7 years ago).

I was told it was acceptable to put the amount of credits I earned on my resume, but I was wondering if that holds true for something like a linkedIn profile.

Edit: I incorrectly wrote semester, but it was really a year and a half. While I suspect the answers for this question would advise the same either way, I just want to correct that.

user1028270
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  • What kinds of coursework did you complete with a passing grade? Did you end up transferring to a different university or leaving school entirely? – Thomas Owens Jul 27 '15 at 20:23
  • Left entirely. I was suspended if you want to call it that (academic probation) and decided not to return as I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at that time. – user1028270 Jul 27 '15 at 20:25
  • possible duplicate of Should I include education section in resume if I dropout college after K-12 – StackExchange What The Heck Jul 27 '15 at 21:16
  • I would add it if I could say with a clear conscience that I gained something useful from attending the college, that is if I know substantially more about the subjects taught at the college than if I had never attended. I'd possibly rearrange things to draw attention to the credits (some credits are better than none) and not to the college (because a semester and half isn't much). For example, if you seriously studied maths at my university for one semester and then quit, you would be worlds ahead in maths of anyone who didn't. – gnasher729 Jul 28 '15 at 09:39

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I was told it was acceptable to put the amount of credits I earned on my resume, but I was wondering if that holds true for something like a linkedIn profile.

I don't agree with the advice you were given. I think it's rather odd to put the amount of credits earned on a resume or LinkedIn when you flunked out in less than a year. It calls attention to and highlights the fact that you didn't graduate.

That said, I think it's perfectly reasonable to indicate a college you attended on LinkedIn - as long as you specifically don't include a graduation date or a degree (which you presumably didn't attain). I know of many folks who have done exactly that.

During an interview, you may be asked "Why didn't you graduate?" So be prepared for that line of questioning.

Joe Strazzere
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