4-year college graduates: Did you retain most the information you learned, or have you forgotten most of it?

Question

If you had to retake all your old exams (especially the ones you did well on), or write all your old papers again, would you still get the same grade or close to it? Or would you probably flunk them? Any subjects in particular?

And if you had to give a percentage of how much knowledge you supposedly "learned" then (as evident by your grades), and still remember and understand today, what would it be?

Answer 1

The most important aspects of completing a college degree are learning how to learn, learning where to find what you need to know, and how to apply and interpret knowledge.

I would do better now on all college courses and assignments, except possibly the math courses. I have not used math in any real academic sense, other than teaching middle school math and doing statistics in grad school, since I did the last university math course more than 30 years ago. I would do better now on everything else because I have a lifetime of learning and experience to bring to the courses, a background I did not have at the time. All of that undergraduate work would seem very basic and easy to me now.

Answer 2

It depends.

I think I'd be fine with my English courses (I majored in English).

I think I'd be okay with most of my Speech Communication courses (that was my minor).

I would fail Spanish.

Most of my general education courses wouldn't be terrible. I hated one of my biology courses, but loved the other science ones. I love real estate and my philosophy courses, although I can't remember the real estate laws.

Answer 3

Just to balance out the answers you're getting, I can honestly tell you that I remember (and use) almost everything.

If I had to take all my old exams, and write all my old papers again, I'd do even better.

The only things I would fail would be exams in AP calculus and AP Chemistry, both of which I did way back in high school. I banished those things from my memory many years ago, along with the Dewey Decimal system, because I knew I'd never be using them again.

I took no math or hard science at the college level. But every course I did take, you bet I remember. This is probably because I use stuff from those courses on a daily basis, since I'm an academic.

Answer 4

I've forgotten the information. But if I wanted to, I can find that information on my own. If I have to take a test, and I am given the textbook, I can probably get a good grade with a day or two of studying. If I have to take the test without studying, I think I can still pass with educated guessing. But no, I don't actually remember the information.

Answer 5

I think I'd probably do better with the writing, seeing as how I'm an editor now, however stuff like sentence mapping? Uh...I totally forgot that the minute I no longer needed to know it (which was as soon as I took the final exam).

French? I had 5 semesters. Can't speak much beyond Voulez vouz coucher avec moi? Ce soir? LOL!

Just the necessities, I guess ;-)

Answer 6

I was an engineering major and the most important thing I learned is that I can not learn everything and it is foolish to try. But, I learned how to solve problems and how to find anwsers to questions quickly. Employers do not espect you to know everything off the top of your head, but given a reasonable amout of time (depending on the problem) they expect competent results. So, the things you learn are not nearly as important as learning how to learn. Don't try to vill your brain with too much stuff.

Answer 7

In the subjects I cared about (materials science), I would probably do ok. I would probably fail the classes that seemed irrelevant, like differential equations, organic chemistry.

Percentage that I still remember would probably be around 70.

Answer 8

I'm ten years out of university. I would do better on some things and would be in big trouble with others. I still retain a lot of my learning because I am interested in what I studied and have reinforced it with subsequent reading.

Answer 9

I think after a certain length of time, people might not remember more than 10% of some o the courses they took in college, but if they know how to find it when they need it, then all was not in vain.

Answer 10

The items that count (the ones in my major) I still remember because I use the information. The ones required for my bachelor's but not pertinent to my job....no. Meteorology? African and Asian Mythology? Orienteering? I would hope that I'm not retaining that information....