Using Social Security Numbers to find out your grades in college
Posted by Artemis1982_@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 512 comments
Older Gen X here (1966). When I was in college (85-89), we got our end-of-semester grades by going to the classroom door, where a list of all students' SSNs would be posted along with our grades. This was considered more private and secure than posting our names. Did anyone else's college do this?
CommonCut2063@reddit
I was a college student (1996-2000) and our student ID was our SSN. Yes, at the end of semester, our grades were posted outside the academic departments, on the wall, showing everybody's SSN.
Apprehensive_Put4319@reddit
Rutgers and NYU had a version of this in the 90s, grades posted by student number on the wall outside the classroom.
ShezeUndone@reddit
It wasn't until the late 90s that anyone worried about ss numbers being private. I think some states used them for driver's license numbers. Some people even had them printed out on their personal checks.
mrpbeaar@reddit
Because they weren’t meant to be ID related
spackletr0n@reddit
My mom had me engrave it into the computer they gave me for college in case it got stolen. Why that’s better than my name and phone number, I’ll never know. But there’s a Mac LC 2 out there that could ruin my life.
ShezeUndone@reddit
😆
Zealousideal_Emu6587@reddit
Yes, Virginia Tech, mid-80’s did this.
Happy_Confection90@reddit
I work for the university I went to. It was only sometime between when I graduated in 1999 and began working for the university in 2012 that they stopped using social security numbers as both student and employee ID numbers.
And yes, grades were posted with social security numbers instead of names outside of classrooms.
External_Agency_4488@reddit
It was our college ID number. we wrote it in our textbooks (which we later sold) and on every paper we turned in.
It was not a problem at the time. I graduated in 1988.
Jsky70@reddit
Yep, I'm a GenXer couple years younger than you and that is exactly how we received our grades in college !
Far_Winner5508@reddit
Funny, scrolling across this post just now.
Just transferred my cards from old wallet to new one and when I got to my ancient SSN card (from the ‘70s), it hit me I don’t need to be carrying it around. What if I lose my wallet (never have in 5 decades but could still happen)? And I’ve had it memorized since I was a teen.
Filed it away with important papers.
well-it-was-rubbish@reddit
I had to get a replacement Social Security card a few months ago, and the paper that you rip the perforated card out of specifically says not to carry it around with you.
Far_Winner5508@reddit
Doubt 14 year old me woulda paid attention.
Megalocerus@reddit
I'm sitting in amazement that both your wallet and card lasted from the 70s.
Far_Winner5508@reddit
Wallet gets replaced every other year; dad Christmas gift.
SSN is in one of those lamination envelopes, but not laminated.
Megalocerus@reddit
No one ever needed my actual card or its image until I tried to get an account from unclaimed property, and I had to get another one. Then I moved it to the folder with my passport; I don't normally carry either. But I did get a RealID last month.
Most_Buy6469@reddit
Mid 90's at PSU, WOU, and Linfield in Oregon. I had to order new transcripts when I was applying for college jobs around 2015. Every transcript had my SSN number on it and the HR departments wouldn't accept them.
EddieKroman@reddit
They were everywhere. Our grades, drivers license, school id card. Now, if someone wants to steal my identity, they can have it only if they take my aches and pains with it. You want my identity? You’ll give it back after the first night, which is semi-sleepless and you start having aches and pains which make no sense.
A_Bridger_really@reddit
I had an argument with a doctor’s office once when I refused to give them my ssn. “When you get married and change your name how are we going to keep track of you.” No problem, not planning on changing my name (and I did not). And why did they assuming I was going to get married?
Extreme_Air_1720@reddit
I never fill in the SSN info at doc offices. When challenged I remind them it is not to be used for id purposes other than SS and therefore none of their business.
NameYourCatHerbert@reddit
Very common in graduate school 87-89. Most grades weren't publicly posted at my undergrad university.
Southern_Tailgater@reddit
Yes, Auburn University mid 1970s did this.
Myeloman@reddit
The military used to use SSNs as ‘serial numbers’ and made us write them on our bear in paint markers. Moving from one rental to another much closer to base one weekend the old house was burglarized. The thieves found my mobility bag and dumped out all the gear (we assume to use the bag to make off with their haul). Somewhere out there is a bag with my full GD name and social on it. To add insult to injury, decades later my VA ID card had the same info embedded in the bar code and any simple bar code reader app would give you the same info. They quickly changed the card once they found out.
The more time goes by, he greater my worry of ID theft rises… feels like only a matter of time.
Sure_Win1101@reddit
When my high school boyfriend joined the Navy, we had to address letters to him with his SS written under his name on the envelope.
Willing_Acadia_1037@reddit
Same. Still know my ex bfs SSN because I write so many letters during basic training!
envengpe@reddit
1974-1981. Full SSNs without names posted on professors’ doors.
bjb8@reddit
Yes, and at work it was my employee ID, which I had to recite to the cashier to receive my staff discount.
No-Top-883@reddit
Yep and my SSN was on my student ID charge card, right on the front. Used that to buy things on campus 1985-1989.
Sure_Win1101@reddit
We had to write out our full SS and name on a check-in sheet to use a computer in the library at my college.
chocolateandpretzles@reddit
When I was in college in NY that’s how we got our grades. Last 4 of your social not the whole number next to your posted grade or you went in the class one by one to get the grade from your teacher.
Rough_Condition75@reddit
I work in IT for an Ivy. When I was still help desk one of my projects was cleaning old Social Security number student IDs from administrative assistant and faculty competes that they carried over year after year, computer to computer, because they deleted nothing, ever, and had that info on every student they ever had. That was in 2010-2013 era.
RidiculousSucculent@reddit
Yes but only for a few semesters. Then they stopped publicly posting grades altogether.
Morrigoon@reddit
Yeah they stopped this when I was in school.
hoponbop@reddit
Virginia used SSN as your driver's license number till 1995 and it was an option until 2004. A lot of people; including me, had that number printed on our personalized checks right under our name and followed by phone number and complete address.
InterruptingChicken1@reddit
Yikes. No, we had student IDs. (‘84-‘88)
FiddleStrum@reddit
Yep. On top of that, my state used to use SSN for driver license IDs.
ultra_blue@reddit
Yup.
lowercasejae@reddit
Was my student id when I started at Oregon (1997).
Unhappy-Art-6230@reddit
Yes. And in military boot camp, we stenciled our ssn onto every piece of clothing and towel we were issued.
In the 90s, our neighborhood watch encouraged everyone to engrave their ssn onto valuables like tvs, tools, whatever, to make them more difficult to fence if stolen..
SilverIndication1462@reddit
College is how I memorized my SS number
CrowsSayCawCaw@reddit
It used to be you could tell any adult who had been to college if they had their SSN memorized.
When I worked retail in the late 80s-early 90s part-time as a student the store accepted checks from customers and some small business owners, think construction contractors, tradespeople and landscapers, who paid by check had their SSN printed on the checks along with their business phone numbers.
Complex_Yam_5390@reddit
I had my SSN memorized before I went to college; maybe because I had jobs in high school. I involuntarily memorized my husband's SSN soon after getting married 20+ years ago, too, because I always do our taxes etc.
Complex_Yam_5390@reddit
I'm not 100% sure I remember accurately. I went to UCLA (class of '94), and as far as I know final grades weren't posted anywhere publicly. I had to wait for my report card to arrive in the mail. But I'm pretty sure I had a student ID that was not my SSN that I had to write on bluebooks and assignments.
ConstructionSame3253@reddit
College in NY, same time frame. Grades for the semester were on green bar paper, in huge binders, by SSN. Never so glad that my SSN was from a different state, so I wasn't looking in the same books as everyone else. But, yeah, crazy to think about it now.
shiny1988@reddit
Remember that scene in Reality Bites? when Jeanine Garafolo screams her ssn followed by “that’s the only thing I learned in college.”
Yeah mine was PRINTED ON MY COLLEGE ID. Major SEC school ‘90-‘94
sweets4n6@reddit
Same, 92-96. I know they changed it but I don't remember if it was senior year or when I started grad school at the same school.
sweets4n6@reddit
My school ID number was my SSN and printed on my ID card. I think they finally changed it around the time I was a senior, maybe when I was in grad school. Mid/late 90s.
Amazing-Software4098@reddit
This was definitely the practice when I was in college when I started in 93.
When I started working at a university we were still using SSNs to look up students. I also had faculty SSNs to enter faculty as instructors of record.
LovelyLilac73@reddit
No - we had six digit student numbers. Grades with student numbers were posted outside the department offices.
jeremyism_ab@reddit
U of Alberta, we had six digit student id numbers that were used for this purpose.
liand22@reddit
Yep. Graduated high school in 1992 and my college did this. And in 1996, my health insurance company used SSNs as ID numbers.
FollowTheFellow@reddit
Mine stopped doing it around 1989.
TheAngryOctopuss@reddit
The shear number of stereos I've seen with people's SSN etched into them
hereforcomments09@reddit
The military made us print our SSN on our checks, along with our address and rank. Our SSNs are everywhere. 🤦♀️
sooperedd@reddit
Yes! And standing in a long ass line to register for classes.
Proteus6611@reddit
lol! Yes!!! 😂
Psychological-Pop126@reddit
My college ID had my ss# printed on the front of it.
AndSoItGoes__andGoes@reddit
Alabama's DL number was your SS# well into the late 90s
Appropriate-Goat6311@reddit
Moved to AL in 1994 & got a license #… no SSN on mine
AndSoItGoes__andGoes@reddit
I moved there in 1992 and it was 100% on my DL
NerdEnglishDecoder@reddit
Same in Kansas. But they would let you opt out quite a bit earlier
NerdEnglishDecoder@reddit
Same. You could choose to have your student ID different from your SSN. BUT if you had a job on campus they had to be the same.
No-Travel-8949@reddit
Same, my SSN was my student ID number!
AlcesOnTheLoose@reddit
Yep! And the state used my SSN as my drivers license number too. And I recently found my old Army issue dufflebag from the early 90’s and it’s got a big old stencil of my SSN on the side.
JAFO-@reddit
My Army dog tags had it.
ronejr71@reddit
New York the last 4 of my social was my file which anyone could look at. They were "mail" from the school in a spot that had rows of folders arranged by last 4 if your social security number.
Boring-Artichoke-373@reddit
When I got my Drivers License, they asked me if I wanted to use my SS # for my drivers license number. My folks had told me to tell them no, as no one needed my SS#. Several of the ladies in the office tried to convince me to use my SS number but I held firm. This was in 1987.
QT_3-14159@reddit
Yessss!!
Think_Scientist9505@reddit
Yeap. Class of '95. Being in a military family means my ssn is from a different state than I was living in by the time for college so it was so much easier to find my scores. There would be like 5 or 6 of us odd ball numbers and then everyone else.
A_Bridger_really@reddit
Not a military kid, but Dad did have federal government job. I still go “huh?” when asked about my birth state when traveling internationally. Especially if they just say the state.
GenXerfafo@reddit
UW Madison grad 1992— 100%. there would be pages of grades with the last 4 of SSNs taped on the wall outside lecture halls. Everyone crowded around.
pegggus09@reddit
After 9/11, all of us, as Missouri State employees, got new IDs we that had to wear around our neck at work. With our SSN’s. Can you even imagine.
34player@reddit
Would that have been S MSU?
pegggus09@reddit
Oh sorry, no. a state government employee. In Jeff City.
Effective-Usual4152@reddit
In the state of Kentucky, up until the 80s, your SSN was also your drivers license number, and your university ID! And working retail, we made people give it who wrote checks….
chriskbrown50@reddit
Same in Virginia
DaisyRN@reddit
I had my SSN pre-printed on my checks. It saved time when paying at the register. This was late 80s in KY.
Effective-Usual4152@reddit
I think I did too!
Lovely_catastrophes@reddit
Same. Freshman year was ‘97 and they were still doing this. In our student union they were also letting people walk up to pop-up “banks” and apply for credit cards in exchange for getting a pizza or t-shirt. I’m now wondering how many people got their identity stolen because someone was hungry and Capital One would trade easily stolen SSNs for food.
Mary-U@reddit
This was very common at a lot of universities. At the U of Chicago we had separate 6 digit IDs they used.
1983 - 1987. I still know mine 834576
oPlease22@reddit
To the professors and staff at East Carolina University I will always be known as 690013. The 13th member, alphabetically in the freshman class of 1969.
Tejanisima@reddit
Did they call you '13' for short?
Tejanisima@reddit
I found out while in college from '85 to '89 that it was possible for a person to be assigned a dummy number of the same length if they didn't have a social — for example, an international student. So when I went back to school in 1994, I insisted on being assigned such a number rather than my SSN being my student ID. The first several people insisted that couldn't be done, but as I say, I knew it could because I used to date somebody whose job included doing that exact thing for all the international students at our college. So I kept going until I got to the registrar's office, where they knew exactly what I was talking about and promptly issued me a different number. Fast forward five or six years later when everybody else suddenly realizes that SSN's for ID's are a bad idea, and now I have to get assigned a whole new number even though I already had a non-SSN identification number. 🤦🏻♀️
Tvoli@reddit
They posted class rosters with everyone’s SS#s in public.
j33@reddit
Yes, I remember this. I also still have my old college ID from 1991 which had my social security number handwritten on it.
AJM_1987@reddit
My student ID (with picture!) had my SSN on it. Ah, more innocent times...
RhodaPenmarksShoes@reddit
Me too!
Miderstern-Lady@reddit
It was on my checks as well as my student ID
Think_Scientist9505@reddit
They were still making us put the military members ssn on checks written on base in the mid 2000s. By this time id fraud was well known but they wanted ssn, military group, phone numbers (home and office) and I know I'm forgetting some. It was an insane amount of info "added" on a check just to write a check for stuff when it was the only thing the base would take for payment.
Disastrous-Mousse837@reddit
Mine too!
Legion1117@reddit
1996 - They'd narrowed it down to the last 4 (5 if by some 1 in a million chance you had the same numbers as another student) of your SSN posted in a list on the wall.
petestein1@reddit
Not to be pedantic or anything, but it’s not a one in 1 million chance… it’s a one and 10,000 chance.
Legion1117@reddit
Then why say anything?????
ob1dylan@reddit
Texas A&M did this in the 90s. I don't know if they still do it, but they are really into tradition, so... maybe?
Think_Scientist9505@reddit
I heard they finally changed it in the late 90s. I remember talking about it with some 2000 grads at Muster one year. They thought we were crazy and didn't believe us. 😆
ape-BBstacker@reddit
In the Military,1975 time frame , we had to put the ssn on our checks to cash them.
Think_Scientist9505@reddit
It was required on all checks written on base until the mid 2000s but they also wanted squadron number, office phone number and on some bases your commander's info on top of the military members name and cell if it was on the check all ready. They just got insane with the info they wanted on a check. I think the last time I had to write the novel on a check for the BX was in 2008.
Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit
We had to put our last four on most of our personal belongings.
Sweet-Dessert1@reddit
Virginia Tech did this (in the 80’s). Did you know that where you were born is encoded in the SSN? Since I was not from VA, but most students were, my SSN stood out.
Think_Scientist9505@reddit
Yeap, the first 3 numbers are like zip codes and start on the east coast. The military life means my sister and I have different state issued numbers but that made it easier for us too in college since Texas numbers start with 4.
Efficient-Train2430@reddit
SSNs used to be that way; no longer. Go Hokies
ExhaustedHungryMe@reddit
And it’s not super-precise. Each state had a range of numbers for the first 3 digits. PA was like 150-199, and everyone I knew in Delaware was 220-224. SSNs also used to only start with a number between 0 and 5, but that’s not true anymore either.
jd732@reddit
Yes, my student ID was my social security number. University Class of 1994
trelene@reddit
Same here, class of 1990. I didn't have my SSN memorized before then. I recall in the first week of college, among the first few of the many, many times I'd be ask for it, I got frustrated that someone would expect us to know this random number.
HauntingAd2440@reddit
UT Austin 1993. Yup. Posted on the doors. Like 500 ssns right there for the taking.
I also used to have to sign in to professional development meetings with my SSN.
willowviolet@reddit
Yes.
I joke that I missed my window of opportunity to commit crimes and get away with them.
DwinDolvak@reddit
yes. and my friends would give me their SS numbers so I could check their grades as well.
We had a scam one year where the students that worked in the mail room (and had access to our student IDs (social sec numbers) ordered hundreds of VISA cards using that info and had items shipped directly to themselves in the mailroom. Went on for months until someone got wind of it.
reblynn2012@reddit
Yes.
asyouwish@reddit
No. By the time I went to college, SSNs as college IDs were forbidden. Our grades were posted by our student ID numbers. Thankfully, my university protected my identity.
PoppaBalloon@reddit
Oh, then you are not GenX. What are you doing here, may I ask?
asyouwish@reddit
Yes I am GenX.
Mary-U@reddit
They might be the end of GenX (1965 - 1980) so that 1998 for the youngest Gen X to go to college.
SidMarcus@reddit
SS# was on my student id, health insurance card, drivers license, and yes, the last four #’s were posted with my grades.
fromamomof2@reddit
I had my ssn printed on my checks
mom2artists@reddit
I didn’t print my ssn but my DL# since whenever I wrote checks in the 90s, they wanted to write it on the check. I did it to speed up the checkout process.
fromamomof2@reddit
That's why I printed my SSN on them as well. This was when I was in college and our student id was our SSN, and stores required your Ssn as they knew they could trace you through the school. Wild how much things have changed.
NotMyCat2@reddit
Where did you go to school at? The university I went to had unique student ID’s. I still remember mine and I graduated in 1985.
Mary-U@reddit
Same. I went to the UChicago and mine was 834576
NotMyCat2@reddit
Cal State Los Angeles. 444513
Bellefior@reddit
Yes! I was just mentioning this to my husband!
S99B88@reddit
Canada, we had student numbers unique to the school. The first 2 digits of your student number were the year you first enrolled. That number was your account for bookstore and tuition payments, and all things grades.
We would put that number on any tests and assignments. I knew mine, still do, like my home phone number. I knew and can remember the student IDs from a couple of my friends, from group projects or for being able to tell them their marks if they weren’t able to check when they were posted.
FergusonTEA1950@reddit
This makes much more sense than using an SSN. Occasionally, some place will ask for my SIN (Canada) and I will lay into them for it. No one except the government and a couple of institutions have a right to know your number.
S99B88@reddit
That just reminded me how my Catholic friend said they would get so triggered when an employer or bank or something would ask for their SIN. Like, that’s between me and my priest, dude. 😂
oddlikeeveryoneelse@reddit
This sort of continued even in the aughts. It was only the last 4 of SS# posted publicly then. But any thing you needed from the registrar or any office began with reciting your full SS# to them in front of the entire line of people waiting for their turn. That was still the account number for every student and many people had access to it.
BrotherQuartus@reddit
Yep, SUNY did that.
KhunDavid@reddit
Yep. SUNY Stony Brook grad here.
BrotherQuartus@reddit
Same, class of ‘90.
Sitcom_kid@reddit
We had that. And everybody was thrilled to be in the phone book, almost no one wanted to be unlisted.
AmericanTaig@reddit
Everything at my school was tied to your SS# I mean everything! There was an option to obtain an alternative "student ID number" but it was a pain to get.
I would have recurring nightmares that I had forgotten my SS# or inadvertently used some random number.
13maven@reddit
When I was in college (1990-94) our SS# were our student ID numbers!! Crazy!
TheNatureOfTheGame@reddit
Yes, by SSN. It wasn't really that private, though; there was one much older student (my dad's age--and I was in my late 30s at the time) with an obviously older SSN, so we all knew it was him. It wasn't hard to see a pattern in the SSNs and the grades they got (I hate to put it this way, but the "good" students vs. the not so good students).
Ok-Commercial-924@reddit
Joined the navy after high school, and we stenciled our SSN and name on all of our clothes and duffle bag. The VA still puts SSN on hospital wristbands.
handsomeape95@reddit
My fondest Navy memory is providing my full SSN to the base gym for a towel card.
Imaginary-Angle-42@reddit
I’ve not looked at a blood test tube recently. Just checked my VA medical card and the ID # is not my SSN though the last 4 are used as an ID check.
BTW, SSN’s are not issued consecutively. My twins, officially born 1 minute apart (but actually 45 sec or less), with SSNs requested at the same time, have numbers that are close but separated by some maybe random number of digits.
fezmid@reddit
The first three numbers are where you were born (checked it again and apparently that has changed as of 2011).
DarkLogik117@reddit
Army here, and same. I came across my duffel bag a few years ago and grabbed the biggest, black permanent marker I had and went to town on it.
It’ll likely never leave the house, but these days, you never know.
Thank you for your service. 🇺🇸🫡🇺🇸
Electronic_Name_325@reddit
I have copies of jump logs with entire C-130 loads of SSN. I looked not long ago and had one MG and three COL on one.
DarkLogik117@reddit
Not surprising. Then again, for the most part, we vets are a different breed. I’d never consider doing something harmful to another person, and DEFINITELY not a brother or sister in arms.
justgettingby1@reddit
Ours was by student id number, not ssn.
damutecebu@reddit
A lot of schools back then used your SSN as your ID number. Working in higher education, I recall the hand-wringing at my institution in the early 90s when that was disallowed.
Wren572@reddit
Yep. I was in college from 1990-94 and had to block out my SSN on my official transcripts when sending them as proof of education for job applications, lol.
Infinite_Weather_695@reddit
Yes, but just the last 4 digits
BerryLanky@reddit
Had my SS# on my drivers license and my student id.
TheNolaCatLady@reddit
Same here!
dharmabird67@reddit
Mine did this.
gcboyd1@reddit
Yep
hershwork@reddit
We did in law school, and the grades were posted, but now I can’t remember what they used as identifiers…seems like we had an assigned number but I don’t remember what mine was or where it came from—pretty sure it wasn’t our social
m0nkeyh0use@reddit
Yep. Northeastern University, '88-'93. I had a friend who thought it was fun to memorize everyone's SSNs. More nerdy and less creepy then.
Linux4ever_Leo@reddit
My university also did this.
mom2artists@reddit
I don’t think grades were ever posted. Idk what our IDs were, I’d have to look at my transcript. I know it has my ssn on it but not sure if used as student id. (SSU, Maryland, grad 1991)
RiffRandellsBF@reddit
Someone at my undergrad was smart enough to create identifiers with 2 Letters + 4 numbers. Grad school? Last 4 of our SSNs. LOL
Beartrkkr@reddit
Yep. Was also my Student ID Number, and on checks, etc.
Turbulent-Ad5121@reddit
Graduated college in 1996- my student ID was my SSN and I’m pretty sure my drivers license number was my SSN for a bit until they switched to a new random number at some point when I was in college.
I remember using checks to pay for things and they wrote your SSN, DOB and phone# on your check. I remember people having it pre-printed on their checks.
Insane.
ConversationSad@reddit
Yeah and Boomers still think they can trust checks more than online banking…
MoneyShot2023@reddit
Identity theft just..... wasn't what it is now.
ZoeyMyBaby@reddit
UNC (1976-1982)
claude3rd@reddit
Massachusetts drivers license used to default to ssn as your license number. You had to check a box to have a random string instead.
If you got into a car accident and swapped information with the other driver, you had their name, address, and SSN in one handy package.
3lm1Ster@reddit
Oklahoma used to be this way as well.
terrybuvm@reddit
90s student here, my student ID number was also my SSN. Funny thing- I am now the head of the Department I got my undergrad degree in and when I was moving offices I found a drawer with grade reports for about 15 years, all with names and SSNs. That included mine and all of my classmates from the time. Just sitting there in an unlocked file cabinet in an unlocked front office. They're shredded now.
Work-Foreign@reddit
It was our college ID number and the serial number when I went into the Army in 82
ProfessorExcellence@reddit
It was our student id number. It was on our id card and every document the school issued. Unbelievable now.
MediatrixMagnifica@reddit
Oh yeah. Along with the box on the floor outside the professor’s door with all the GRADED final papers and tests for there students. In alphabetical order. You know, so we could pick up the last of our assignments even though the professor was gone for break.
ExpressionNo2123@reddit
90’s student and yes! And recall having to shred school papers because of it
amk1377@reddit
That’s amazing 🤣🤣🤣
magadorspartacus@reddit
I have worked for the same University since 1997 and they were still using SSNs for student and employee numbers until the early 2000s.
Master_Kitchen_7725@reddit
My University did this. It's how I finally memorized my SSN!
armitage75@reddit
This was definitely still a thing at my University in 1995.
TransatlanticMadame@reddit
mine did!
AlmiranteCrujido@reddit
Youngish but not terminal GenX here. I'm surprised that was legal under FERPA. Never saw anything like that during the years I was in college (1993-99, excluding '97) but for most of it, our SSN was our student ID and you would literally write it on your blue book or print it on the top of your papers.
This literally changed partway through my undergrad years.
MelodyRaine@reddit
I think this predated FERPA. I remember using my ssin for lots of things, enough that I had it memorized before reaching high school.
magadorspartacus@reddit
FERPA became law in 1974. Not sure why posting grades by the last four digits wasn't considered a violation.
MelodyRaine@reddit
They did it up until 1996 if this thread is any indication. Maybe SSIN weren't covered until then?
Logical-Fix-5804@reddit
The person who is one off of my ssn was in my class and was a much better student.
No-Assistance476@reddit
Only the last 4 digits.
CivMom@reddit
Yep, we all knew who everyone was after a semester.
JulsTiger10@reddit
Yes! I remember standing and staring
ExhaustedHungryMe@reddit
Yup! I started college in ‘83 and our SSN was our ID#.
To this day, I still know the SSN of a friend I haven’t seen in 30+ years because we could punch it in at the dining hall if we forgot our IDs, and we both worked at the dining hall. We’d put each other’s number in when we were bored early in our shift, and numbers stick in my brain, so I’ve remembered hers ever since. (It’s hanging out in my brain along with all the lyrics of songs I haven’t heard since 1988, lol!)
FormerRep6@reddit
Yes! Our SS numbers were our IDs at school. I think our laminated cards had them on it. Our grades were posted by our numbers. I’d never heard of identity theft back then so I never thought anything of it. Things have certainly changed!
Pristine_Main_1224@reddit
I got my driver’s license in 1991, and my DL number was my SS number. Printed right there on the license, and often written down when paying with checks in retail stores.
twinWaterTowers@reddit
This was the standard in Virginia. Your SSN was your dl number
shackledtodesk@reddit
Was coming here to say the same about VA. You could request them to not use your ssn as your dl number in the 90s.
Pristine_Main_1224@reddit
At some point in the mid-to-late 90s AR decided to change from SS to actual ID numbers thankfully.
ktappe@reddit
I believe we also did this, but (my memory isn’t clear) I think they only posted the last four of the Social Security not the entire thing.
Mommanan2021@reddit
Ours did last 4 digits, too.
brinazee@reddit
Mine did it the first year I was there (1996), but they put them in order by the name, so I actually was able to figure out the SSNs of a couple of my friends. They quit posting them that way the following year.
96HeelGirl@reddit
SSN was used for EVERYTHING in college. I cringe thinking of it now. My husband was in the Army in the 90s, and his is on his dog tags, too.
OsaPolar@reddit
Scribbled it on our checks at the bar to buy drinks!
Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit
As our mine from the mid 80s
dalekaup@reddit
Yes and it got to where my classmates knew my SSN because I was always setting the curve in that particular class.
brdclark@reddit
Everything at my college was tied to my SS number. I was in college 88-93. All test were put on the door using our SS number. We even had to put it on the test with our name.
Key-Cattle-2866@reddit
Yes, when I was in college your SSN was your student number.
TruckFudeau22@reddit
Same here. My first drivers license number too.
Sensitive_Note1139@reddit
My college ID was my SSN. After they decided that using SSNs on every single piece of paper was a bad idea. My college tracked down some of its graduates. They decided you had a couple of years to get your records, or they would be destroyed. My degree was worthless, so I didn't care. Husband had a teaching degree, but he couldn't get a decent job with it.
It was around 10 years after we graduated that they changed over. Husband's job would have fired him if he tried to return to school to keep his teacher's certification. Rural area, not a lot of options. So he let his file be destroyed too. Mind you, they only contacted me.
Last year, our former school sent me several emails asking me to flesh out my file with them as they were trying to track down alumni and hear "success" stories. I deleted every email. Husband wasn't interested either.
Husband graduated late 80s and I in the early 90s.
As to the grades being posted with SSNs. Our school posted the grades that way for finals.
xturboturtlex@reddit
Same. My SSN was also on every check of my first checking account.
Willing_Crazy699@reddit
In college in lare 70s early 80s. Grades were posted using partial ssn
Minute-Actuator-9638@reddit
My first drivers license number was my SSN
icarus_rising53@reddit
Yep! My kids don't believe me
whuaminow@reddit
Same thing at my state university, it was the student ID number, printed on my card ('91-95) and was used to post grades in the window of our classroom doors. Usually the full name was the first column, but it was folded under. Anybody that would have taken the list off the window could have had a lot of info for identity theft.
kckitty71@reddit
When I lived in GA (1994-2000) my driver’s license number was my SS number.
Parking_Champion_740@reddit
Yep! Same era- late 80s. I think it was considered private in that nobody knew it was you. I guess people didn’t worry about fraud. I also recall that you could giv3vyoyr prof a stamped postcard and they’d mail you your grade
cabhop@reddit
In 1985 my SSN was stenciled on my duffel bag at Army basic training when I was 17.
Later on it was my employee number at 2 different Fortune 500 size corporations, even into the late 1990s.
SSNs used to be used and easily discoverable all over the place.
Trying_to_Smile2024@reddit
In 1988 my university ID had my full SSN on the front.
plainyoghurt1977@reddit
They were still doing that at my CSU as late as 1995, my freshman year. Then everything changed with Touch tone phone, and now THAT'S history
PsychologicalBat1425@reddit
They did in my college as well. Posted it all in a hallway. When I went to law school they switched to a randomly assigned number that stayed with me throughout school. I had to write it on each exam during finals.
Efficient-Hornet8666@reddit
My old driver’s license had my ssn on it.
meerkatx@reddit
SSN was meant to be a way for the government to know who we are and that's about it. It wasn't supposed to be an indicator for banks or credit card companies or business's to use as identification.
LotsOfWatts@reddit
I remember this.
Sondari1@reddit
Yeah, our SNNs were visible everywhere.
gottausername@reddit
Not only that, but we also had to put our SSN on every check at the school. Couldn't buy books if your SSN wasn't on the check.
Content_Annual_7230@reddit
Student ID was our SSN for my first couple of years - then they changed it to something different. They still posted grades by the last 4. I had a class with someone who had the same last 5 as me, so there were always two grades on the list with the last 6 digits of our SSNs. I never knew who the other person was but could always find my grade fast. (The class had probably 200 students.)
rubymiggins@reddit
The only reason I know my SSN by heart is college in the late 1980s.
Shen1076@reddit
College early 80s - used SSNs
halflife-crisis@reddit
Mine did, 1998-9
Waterboy_9434@reddit
Went to Ball State starting in 1989 and they just used the last four of our SSN when grades were posted
DianeSTP@reddit
I was in college in the 70s and my SSN and grade were posted outside the professor's office. It was also printed on pay stubs. Full credit card numbers were printed on every charge slip or hotel bill.
RandomCoffeeThoughts@reddit
And on the checks in your checkbook
buchmans@reddit
Yes! I went to a state college that was in a different state than where I get up hence my SSN was always at the bottom of the list because most students started with a 0 and mine with a 1. Also, in upper division classes with a smaller number of students, we basically could figure out who was who. So crazy to think about that now and how different it is.
Erazzphoto@reddit
My social security number was on my devry badge
CharlotteBadger@reddit
I started college in 2009 and my student ID was my SSN.
labnerd89@reddit
This! We used to write our SSN on the memo line of our checks. I knew of some people that had it printed on their checks with their address. Seems like insanity now.
thescrape@reddit
Found an old IRS statement from 2014. My full social security number was on the forms multiple times. That seemed crazy to me.
Sea-Air4927@reddit
Our student IDs were our Social Security numbers.
Puzzled_Awareness_22@reddit
In the 80s we printed our name, address and SSN on checks.
Reader47b@reddit
They posted grades using our student ID number - which was our social security number.
Dr_StrangeloveGA@reddit
Same here, UGA, graduated '95
Juanfartez@reddit
It was my student id and it was also my GA DL number.
ImWatchingTelevision@reddit
My school mailed me a printout with some of my information I had requested, included in the package was three pages of other students names and full social security numbers. This was circa '91.
Ok_Syrup_2854@reddit
Yes, posted on everything. Bouncers used to ask people to recite their ss# to catch fake IDs.
justattodayyesterday@reddit
1993-1997 we had student id numbers.
treeswetfh@reddit
Same time frame but our student Id numbers were just our SSN plus a number for how many you lost
jtgill02@reddit
Arizona State did this in the late 80’s/early 90’s. In fact my student ID card (which I still have) had my SS# embossed on it since it doubled as our student ID#
Happy-Philosopher188@reddit
1984, same, name, pic, SSN on college ID at Colorado.
Mathchick99@reddit
I graduated from college in 1999 and we still looked up our grades by SSN posted on a list by a door
Worried_Bullfrog_937@reddit
I also graduated in '99, but I don't remember anything like this. I think we got our grades mailed to us.
Mathchick99@reddit
Our final semester grades got mailed all on one report, but individual grades for tests etc during the semester got posted by the profs office. Our SSN was also our student ID number
Electronic-Air-2444@reddit
My SSN was my first drivers license number in the early 80's in Idaho. It was plainly listed in bold print on my DL. Additionally, my SSN was on my Army ID card and on my dog tags. Back in the 80s and even the 90s, I don't think Identity theft had even been invented yet!
IcyCucumber6223@reddit
Yes, the good old days
KansansKan@reddit
Class of 1968, and our SSN was out student ID, that is why I memorized my SSN. I believe at some time after that, the Federal Government prohibited entities from using SSN as an ID number.
2EM315@reddit
Mine was the first freshman cohort to have student ID numbers that were not our social security number…..early 2000s.
Westofbritain413@reddit
And wrote it on your check at the store. Along with your date of birth. Because it was your driver's license number. So there was a piece of paper out there with your signature, dob, ssn, address, and bank account number. Lmao
Juicy-Lemon@reddit
Yep - SS# was my college ID number - raised numbers so it could be used for things like shopping at the university bookstore, and checking out books at the library, where it embossed our SS# on the receipt.
No security whatsoever
fezmid@reddit
Last 4 of your SSN was part of your email address at my college. So if your last name was Smith and your SSN was 123-45-6789, your email was smit6789@collegename[.]edu
So stupid....
Physical_Ad5135@reddit
Also college 1985-89. My college IU did this same thing. We went to the classroom with a group of friends so we would not get attacked on the way over at night. Plus the grades may or may not be posted yet & just as likely they were not ready and a 2nd trip would be required!
Garguyal@reddit
My college used your SSN as you student ID. You used it for everything.
otbnmalta@reddit
Me at Temple University and USC grad school
seriouslyisiton@reddit
Full SS number at Purdue 1986 - 1990 posted on the wall outside the classroom.
girlgeek73@reddit
Me too. Also at Purdue, 1991-1995. I still have my student ID which has my SSN embossed on the front with my full name and picture.
No_Builder7010@reddit
Yup. That’s how I learned it so well. Had to use it for everything in college. 87-91
jaxbravesfan@reddit
Our grades were posted by our student ID number, which, thankfully, was not our SSN.
Familiar-Attempt7249@reddit
1989-1993. I got a paper report card in the mail. My student ID was a different number from my SSN
Katsaj@reddit
I recently found my college ID card, where my SSN was my student ID number printed right on it, to show in public multiple times a day to enter the dining hall. And I remember grades being posted by SSN even in grad school in the late 90s!
21stNow@reddit
The first college that I went to had the good sense to use university generated student ID numbers instead of SSNs. I transferred to another college that unfortunately used SSNs as student ID numbers. The first school posted grades publicly while the second school did not.
Unlikely-Patience122@reddit
This is the reason I had my SS number memorized at 17.
Vegetable-Ideal2908@reddit
Haha mine did this!
terracottatilefish@reddit
Yep! My SSN was also my drivers license number in the late 90s.
gfm1973@reddit
That sounds strange now. Mine was too.
Effective_Pear4760@reddit
Mine too. Also School ID.
danathepaina@reddit
There is a scene in the beginning of the movie Reality Bites where they’ve just graduated college and one character says “I didn’t even learn anything in 4 years…” and their friend says “quick, what’s your social security number?” The first friend recites it and is happy that at least they learned that one thing in college. 😂
Sudden_Idea9384@reddit
Yes, I was in school from 1995-2001 and we did this the whole time. My son is in college now and I recently told him this (also that you’d have to wait several days or a week) and he thought it was crazy.
GooderApe@reddit
Freshman year was based on SSN. Thankfully that changed after that.
hmmmpf@reddit
Yep. Student ID# at UT Austin was your full SSN.
Why_Lord_Just_Why@reddit
Graduated from there in’81!
PrettyBoyBob13@reddit
Mine too. And, it was also my drivers license number in 1995 when I first moved to AZ.
Fantastic-Middle4411@reddit
lol same here when I moved to AZ. Never thought anything of it.
Inwardly-Outgoing@reddit
My student id number was my SSN !
NoRestForTheWitty@reddit
Same
Nagoonberrywine49@reddit
My Gen Z kid was horrified when I mentioned this.
Rhiannon8404@reddit
Same!
Fantastic-Middle4411@reddit
Last four. Not whole number
i-am-jjm@reddit
Yep! Not even last four. The complete number.
KrofftSurvivor@reddit
Elder Gen X - my granddad told me not to let them put my social security number on my checks, so I didn't. People used to get pretty pissy about it.
But honestly, all through school, anything that was listed out had our social security numbers instead of our names.
Weird era...
Better-Box1622@reddit
My dad used to go on long rants about how SSNs are not allowed to be used for anything other than SS benefits, and that all these other institutions and corporations were violating the law... good times.
KrofftSurvivor@reddit
I mean... he was right...
BoltActionRifleman@reddit
I’d forgotten all about putting your SS# on checks. I want to say this ended for me in the mid 1990’s.
Interesting-Song-782@reddit
Yes, at multiple schools. And they thought it protected our privacy 🤣
Bibberly@reddit
Our SSN was our student ID number at UF. Grade on each exam would be posted with our last four digits only, which was a new practice at the time and was touted as a big favor to us. The papers were very clearly printed with the entire number and then cut by hand before displaying. I remember there was one guy in my major who got the university to assign him a separate student number and loudly told everyone it was our right to do so. The professors always acted like it was a major pain to accommodate this guy and that he was being ridiculous.
In the mid-00's, I worked in student services for a department at UNC and did the scheduling and registration for undergraduates. They had student numbers assigned, but the system was old (we could only access it in a DOS window). So the field in the database still said SSN, and that's why the student and staff ID numbers had to be nine digits. I used staff ID numbers to denote who was teaching each course section, so I assume that for many years, professors' SSN's were out there just like the students' were.
CawlinAlcarz@reddit
We had student ID #s that were not related to our SSN.
13mys13@reddit
State of hawaii used to use our ssn for our dri ers license number
Suitable-Gap-8789@reddit
And the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
ericzku@reddit
And Virginia too
BookNerdUnicorn@reddit
So did KS
wifeofjuicepickle@reddit
Georgia did, too!
warbrew@reddit
My student ID was my SSN. Printed and laminated with my picture on my student ID card. UWisc system university. 1984-1989.
Iggleyank@reddit
Same here, 1988-92. The only reason SSNs are treated like gold now is because of the internet. Identity theft is too expensive to do one stolen ID card at a time. But if you can steal several thousand at a crack, now you’re in business.
ted_anderson@reddit
Yep. I was in college in the 90's and in freshman orientation someone said, "So far I've written my SSN down at least 50 times and I've seen it posted on everything from my dorm assignment to my student ID. Is it possible that this could cause me a problem?"
And they said, "Oh NO.. This could never be a problem because only YOU know your own SSN." a couple of semesters later one of the students got busted for filing fake tax returns when H&R block started doing the refund anticipation loans. He got a stack of blank W2 forms from an office supply store and started filling them out with fake names and addresses but using the REAL social security numbers that were posted all over campus. After that they switched over to student ID numbers. For many years that followed they still used your SSN to identify you when you called the finance office or the dean of your department. But they weren't posted out in the open anymore like they once were.
Caloso89@reddit
I know a lot of schools just used your SSN as your student ID number, but mine assigned us registration numbers. I still remember mine. Also, we would tuck a self-addressed post card into our final exam blue books if you wanted to know your grade before the official report was mailed to you sometime in January.
Queasy-Extension6465@reddit
83-87 ours were our student ID not SS#.
Code_Operator@reddit
Same year range, our SSN was our student ID.
Itsworth-gold4tome@reddit
I worked in a credit union thru highschool and a year or so after so 88-91 and SSNs were the account numbers. We knew our customers so well, as they walked in the doors we were entering their SSN. I literally knew a couple hundred people's SSN by heart. After that I went into health care for awhile and SSNs were health insurance policy numbers. I remember the seemingly instant change in the 90's. It was like a light switch and everyone had to get new numbers for things.
Weird-Girl-675@reddit
When I lived in Virginia, our driver’s license numbers were our SSN.
Certain_Site_8764@reddit
Now you can request a non-SSN DL #
tondahuh@reddit
Same for Kansas
Tasty_Context5263@reddit
Yes!
rharper38@reddit
Our SSN was our student ID. On any check. Crazy. They even wanted us to put it in our college rings. No.
JustFaithlessness178@reddit
Oh yeah! I tell my kids how this was the norm. They're in shock!
Zestyclose-Lake-9509@reddit
Yes, I remember this. Weird how things change.
tg1024@reddit
Graduated college in 93. My social security number was my college ID number. Was on every test I turned in.
Free-Preparation4184@reddit
Yes! And we all put it on our research papers, Including classes where we had to do peer critiques.
2quila@reddit
In 1984 I moved to a new town and registered for classes at the local jr college. My college ID card had my photo, my name and my social security number printed on it. I still have that card. When social security was first created the people were told that it would not be used as another form of ID. It would only be used for social security... They lied to us again!
R5Jockey@reddit
The last four digits of my SSN were part of my college email address. Different times those were.
yarnhooksbooks@reddit
Same. The late 90’s we did everything based on last 4. It was how your grades were posted, it was on your email address, it was part of calling on a touch tone phone to register for classes. I used it as my ATM pin for years because I was so used to typing it in all the time.
Administrative-Egg18@reddit
UVa still used SSN as student ID in the '90s. Every time you wanted to check out a book in the library, they would ask you for it and you would tell them and anyone else within earshot.
ComparisonOk8602@reddit
Wahoo wah!
DamYankee77@reddit
I worked for my university's Housing Office in the late 90s, and our Student ID numbers were our SSNs. In my time there I can not even fathom the number of SSNs that I said out loud, or wrote down.
genmusetic@reddit
We bought books of tickets for the home football games back in the Southwest Conference days (1983-1987). Our SSN was written in sharpie on the cover to identify whose book was whose.
A common practice was for one person to pick up all the tickets for a group and would have to present all the ticket books at the ticket so window.
The books changed hands so many times and were passed around freely. No one batted an eye.
Necessary-Peace9672@reddit
Yes—now SS#s are radioactive!
winterblahs42@reddit
Yes. I do remember that happened a few times. Recently found a old college ID from the late 80s and my SSN was used as my student ID number. Embossed right on the card.
REC_HLTH@reddit
It was also my first DL number.
Jagsfan2025@reddit
UF used soc sec # in the late 80s / early 90s. I thought it was ok when we did it!
FelicitousLynx@reddit
Fellow Gator there at the same time, can confirm!
BackgroundPoint7023@reddit
My school (a UC) used a number called a perm number- started in 1988.
karlophonic@reddit
Interesting. The CSU I attended for undergrad used my SSN as an id# for my student aid in the early '90s. We were also given id cards with a different campus id number on it.
Math-Dragon-Slayer@reddit
I have another one - in the late 80s/early 90s, Arkansas used the SSN as one's driver's license number!!!!! And that was when stores wouldn't take a check unless your name, address, and DL number were printed on it...we're all lucky we even have identities to steal.
SheWhoIsConfused@reddit
In my high school Spanish class (‘92), we had to give a speech that included our name, address, and social security number. Back then, it seemed like an appropriate way to practice Spanish. Most of us didn’t know our SSN prior to the assignment.
justaguyfixingteeth@reddit
Yup and if you were from New England, your SSN usually started with 02, 03 or 04 so if you attended a school outside New England without many others from your area, ( like I did) most people could figure your grades when they were posted.
Mellow_Mushroom_3678@reddit
Yes, same. My roommate was super weird about sharing how she did on tests, so I just memorized enough of her SSN to be able to check myself.
Did I mention that I’m a bit on the competitive side?
edlphoto@reddit
Just curious, can anyone tell me what changed? I mean everyone says protect your SSN like your life depends on it. But how can a malicious actor use that SSN to do something to you?
ellenkeyne@reddit
"Identity thieves want your Social Security number more than almost any other piece of personal information. With it, they can open credit cards in your name, file fraudulent tax returns, get jobs using your identity, and access government benefits you're entitled to."
--https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/social-security-number-vulnerable-identity-091500343.html
edlphoto@reddit
How can you open a credit card with just a social security number?
MujerInvisible@reddit
FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) also changed all of this.
turtle0831@reddit
No we got mailed report cards. Ky
biscuitboi967@reddit
College in the mid 90s.
SSN was our student id. Last 4 were in out student emails.
Spiritual-Chameleon@reddit
Same in mid/late 80s
Ugh_NotAgainMan@reddit
My SS # was my drivers license number for years and years until it became optional to use another number
ItzLikeABoom@reddit
What gets me is back in the 90s when I was in the Army we used our SS number as our ID number. That's the reason I have it memorized lol
Dont_Care_Meh@reddit
Absolutely. We were required to print it in every article of clothing in boot camp.
coopasonic@reddit
I still have a duffel bag from the army (89-93) and recently realized it had my SSN printed on the outside.
Flux_Inverter@reddit
Yes. I still have a VA (Vet Admin) ID card from 1989 that has my SSN on it.
rddt6154@reddit
My school used it as our student ID in the early 90s but they only posted the last 4 for exam results. My last four were so high, it was either last or no more than 5 from the bottom. Made it easy to find my grades.
jumpyjumperoo@reddit
Yup, we did.
Txidpeony@reddit
Yep! Also our SSN was our college I’d number, printed on the card.
OldQueenCole13@reddit
Same! It is so bonkers to think that was normal then.
Oldebookworm@reddit
My dl# was my ssn until 1998 when I moved to Texas. It was also under my name on my hon discharge certificate from the army
Gen7Malibu@reddit
My first college id had my SS with an A at the end
Franziska-Sims77@reddit
Some of my professors did this in the late 90s too. I graduated in 2001, and I don’t remember it as much during my last year of college….
Illustrious_Force_63@reddit
We used our ssn to order pizza delivery from our campus food service. I memorized my boyfriend's (now husband) ssn from him just saying it over the phone. Still have it memorized to this day. He liked pizza!
Randeth@reddit
Yep. It's why I have both my and my wife's SSN memorized. We used them so much in college. They were our student ID number. Printed in our college ID card. 🙂
vtqltr92@reddit
My husband and I were in all the same classes, so we would check each other’s grades by SSN. By senior year, I knew several of my classmates’ numbers well enough to check their grades, too. So much for privacy.
marshdd@reddit
My college used our student ID Number for grades.
EVERY SINGLE bill/grades/ letter from my school however had my SS# on it. Literally broke a small shredder getting rid of them years later.
OtherArt9142@reddit
My SSN was my student number in undergraduate; it was printed on our id and everything. Same with it being printed on our checks. Crazy times.
Thick_Journalist7232@reddit
Until the mid 90s, I had my ssn preprinted on my checks to dance time at the grocery store. It was also my drivers license number well into the 90s
Full-Friendship-7581@reddit
Your SS# used to be your ID number on your healthcare card as well.
MRenaeH@reddit
And on our checks
cownan@reddit
Driver’s licenses, too
Krickett72@reddit
No. We got mailed our grades.
HLOFRND@reddit
I’m GenX but didn’t go to college until my mid 20s.
My ssn was my student number for my first couple of years. We used it for everything- to register, to put on exams, etc. They changed it and gave us all different numbers eventually but yeah. My SSN was all over everything, and this was in the 2000s. It was insane.
BackgroundPoint7023@reddit
Wow. That is crazy.
80sfanatic@reddit
Mine did; I went to a four year state college and graduated in 1991.
Upbeat_Ground_932@reddit
The reason I have my SS# memorized is because it was my student number at college.
buffcleb@reddit
It was my drivers license number from 94-97 when I moved to another state that didn't use them
Pettsareme@reddit
Same. SSNs but no photos made no sense. It also always baffles me because it is printed right on the card ‘Not to be used for identification purposes’.
wooksquatch@reddit
Same
frogger2020@reddit
I was cleaning out my mom’s house and she kept all of my old report cards and school correspondence, and I saw my ss# on all of that. I ended up having to shred everything.
Cake_Donut1301@reddit
Yeah SSN was the ID number at school. I don’t recall any of my profs posting grades in any form however.
Human_Day_1245@reddit
We just had this convo at dinner tonight. I was in college 87-91.. gave out my social to buy dinner, do laundry, etc. terrible system lol
MiccioC@reddit
When I tell my students this, they look at me like I have a third eye
DryFoundation2323@reddit
It was pretty common right up until about 87 or 88.
BuckyGoldman@reddit
Yep, (93-97) and I voluntarily showed my SS# to soooo many people to get that student discount. I lost my ID twice and, besides the cost/hassle to replace it, never gave it a second thought.
nygrl811@reddit
Class of '97, ssn on my ID and was my "student ID#". So still happening a decade later!!
Wrong_Pen6179@reddit
This is how they did it at St. John’s University
PinkRoseBouquet@reddit
Guess I’m an outlier. We were issued Student ID numbers different from our SSNs. I went to a private college in the northeast. I’m older GenX as well.
Vlines1390@reddit
I used to have my SS printed on my checks
ksrash005@reddit
Came to say this as well, and this was early 90s
Stanley1897@reddit
Military did the same thing. I have a list of the names of all my boot camp graduates that includes what unit they were going to and their full social security number on attached to the back of a group photo from 1994.
effie-sue@reddit
I don’t recall my college doing this in the mid-90s, but it was on the small side. Most of my classes maxed out at 25 people, so it was just as easy for the professor to hand back our exams.
DryFoundation2323@reddit
Most colleges stopped doing this in the late '80s.
ValuableGrowth8528@reddit
Yes! I went to a state school that was out of state for me. My SSN stood out since the first three digits, which indicate birth place, were much different than the in state students’.
OneCraftyBird@reddit
I was born to Americans living abroad, my SSN was issued based on my grandparents’ address, since that was what my folks listed as their permanent address. I was nearly an adult before I realized the prefix wasn’t for Americans abroad, but actually just Arizona.
twineandtwig@reddit
Yes. Although if you wanted to you could request a unique student id number to use instead of your social.
Firm_Accountant2219@reddit
Yes, us too. It was our student ID number.
Zebras-R-Evil@reddit
Yes. I was just telling my kid about that.
tesyaa@reddit
It used to be printed in full on every page of every bank statement, brokers statement, paper pay stub etc
minder125@reddit
They did it at mine.
AuburnFaninGa@reddit
I remember an episode of ER where Dr Weaver wanted to use the patient’s SSN number on the main board instead of the last name.
lamerc@reddit
I remember when you guarded your SSN carefully and they automatically used your mother's last name before she married as your "password" to prove who you were to your bank on the phone, etc.
Now you can look up something like that name in seconds flat and I've gotten reports that my SSN has been leaked on the dark web more times in the last 10 years than I've actually given it to anyone in that time. And there's nothing you can do about it.
GrandPriapus@reddit
If we came back to our dorm after 10:00pm and didn’t have our ID, we had to provide our SSN to get in. This meant somewhere behind the front desk was a list of all our names, SSN’s and who knows what other identifying information. Crazy.
Longjumping-Ad8775@reddit
Yes, I had this. It got removed about a year into school because ssn’s are PII.
rastagrrl@reddit
My college student ID had my SS # on it. Wild to think about now.
National_Mood_6715@reddit
It was for my high school, but I started college in 1993 and they used a separate student number. Also when I got my license, they had just changed from your SSN to a separate number. I was so early, mine is a bunch of zeros followed by 4 digits.
tempfoot@reddit
I’m so old we had “matriculation numbers” for that.
Full_Security7780@reddit
My social was my student ID number. It was on my student ID card and every class roster I was ever in. If grades were posted outside the classroom, it was listed by social.
laker9903@reddit
Yup, even then we thought it was crazy that we were carrying our SSN around our necks. My school changed my senior year.
Impressive-Shame-525@reddit
Hell, my driver's license number was my social security number for the longest time.
NicolleL@reddit
Mine was on my driver’s license AND all but the last two numbers were my student ID at college. Guess what they used for our emails addresses? Our student IDs…
Next_Possibility_01@reddit
our socials were our student ids #
OneStarInSight_AC@reddit
Exactly, the same at my alma mater. Pisses me off how reckless this "secret" identity has been treated. Pisses me off even more that after decades of being tainted it's still being used to identify us.
quarterlybreakdown@reddit
Mine did! And our emails were our 1st and last initials and last 4 of your ssn.
LQQK_A_Squirrel@reddit
Mine school used school id which was different than SSN
Winkerbelles@reddit
Mine did!
duecesbutt@reddit
Older Gen X. My SSN was my college ID number. Heck, it was even my employee number until about 15 years ago
FootUpstairs2782@reddit
Yes they used to pass around a sign in sheet with everybody’s full name, phone, dob, addy & SS number.
NotBatman9@reddit
College was an actual lifetime ago... I barely remember that I went. :P
Karamist623@reddit
My college did this as well. Older GenX also. 1965
nobody2008@reddit
A community college in SoCal was using SSNs as Student ID numbers as late as 2002.
Standard-Ad6043@reddit
Yup. Policy was still going strong in the late 90s. Thats how I memorized my ssn.
sadtobeyourdad@reddit
Same. It's one of the very few numbers I know that's not a phone number.
Lickford@reddit
My checks had my SSN on them until 1996.
Wild-Climate-3791@reddit
Yes! Same here- went to college in NY from 88-92
dohvb1@reddit
My wife worked at a college call center in 1993. She would help students with scheduling and classes. At that time, your student ID was your SSN. She heard hundreds and hundreds of them. Times have changed a little.
chasingjulian@reddit
My student id was the SS number.
Criticallyoptimistic@reddit
In 1987 your SSN was your military ID number also, I didn't get straight to college. I got lost at the recruiting center.
Hotchi_Motchi@reddit
Shit, I lived in Hawaii in the late 90's and my driver's license number was my SSN-- printed right on the card!
hoarse_of_course@reddit
Same in Arkansas
kd8qdz@reddit
It was an option at the same time in NH.
libzilla_201@reddit
Omg, yes. Hunter College here.
Chicago_Dad_AF@reddit
Yes! U of Iowa in the 90s. Sometimes grades with SSNs would stay up all summer too.
FAx32@reddit
Went to a small college 87-91. It was culture for all professors to give you back anything graded with both a grade for that exam/paper/lab/whathaveyou, as well as your semester grade in progress (you could go pick up your grades final exam within 24 hours — most of my classes were about 20 students, some as little as 5-10, biggest were 45-50 and that was 2 courses all 4 years. Lab sections could be bigger (multiple smaller lectures combined), but those usually had 1 TA per 10-15 students to grade lab write ups within the 24 hour deadline. During that timeframe professors went from 25% computerized grade reports (some still written grade books) to 100% computerized outputs and were sending them by email as soon as graded by spring 1991.
Medical school, comically 10 years later, was posting publicly by last 3 of SSN (usually did last 4 but my class happened to have unique last 3 digits) and that was felt more secure.
theflamingskull@reddit
In some states,, at least through the 1990s, your Driver's License number was your Social Security Number.
froction@reddit
LSU did in the mid 90s
1_Urban_Achiever@reddit
1993 they posted the ss and the grades on the instructors door. They didn’t list the student names but the lists were always in alphabetical order. I know this because my last name always put me at the top of those lists. So if you knew the last names of everyone in the class, you could easily figure out their ss.
ChangeTheUserName17@reddit
Similarly, back in the 1960s, we were happy to engrave our social security numbers into the metal frame of our guitar amplifiers - because "That would make sure it's identified as yours alone." Now, because of that, I'd be reluctant to sell it.
jbarinsd@reddit
Yep. SDSU class of ‘91. Our student ID #s were our SS #s. They were on our ID cards and everywhere else.
pepper471@reddit
Yup. I even have my college floppy disk with my social on it. '89 to '93.
Unsteady_Tempo@reddit
I assigned each student a city name and told them to keep it secret if they didn't want others to know their grades. It was easier for them to remember than a random set up numbers, and posting test/course grades was as simple as printing/posting the sheet without the name column.
sfomonkey@reddit
Professor Money Heist!
Dry-Luck-8336@reddit
Yes, I was in college 1986-1990. They did this most of the time (Univ. of TX) unless you were in a smaller class.
Eureka05@reddit
Ours were posted with our student #. 8 Digit... I think, been a while. And Private unless you told others your #
Backsight-Foreskin@reddit
The Army used SSN's for your identification number. They would print full name, DOB, and SSN on group orders. The FAA used the SSN for the pilot ID number, my full SSN is right on the front of my pilot license.
Patient-01@reddit
I did if it was mostly A and B I take the class if it mostly C and F. Nope
MoeKneeKah@reddit
What?
Vebran@reddit
I'm guessing they mainly got Cs and Fs...
Unusual_Memory3133@reddit
I know my SS # by heart forever because if this
barkivist32@reddit
When I started college in Fall 1995, we had our SSN printed on our ID cards and used for ordering delivery from affiliated restaurants across town. I still remember my roommate’s SSN because she always had me call to place our orders.
Frank_chevelle@reddit
Same for me, however they changed in my Junior year to use a randomly assigned number. Before that it was printed on our id cards and stuff.
hamellr@reddit
Yes, and I got looked at weird when I brought this up as a breach of privacy. My school finally figured out they could put any 9 digit number in there… after I graduated
fireflypoet@reddit
Did not have that with grades, but my first Medicare card, which would have been 25 years ago, had your soc sec # as your Medicare ID #!! Right on the front of the card! I was afraid to take it out with me in my wallet. Thank goodness that eventually changed.
Patient-01@reddit
Yep
Phobos1982@reddit
Yeah we did at my school too.
StickBurger000@reddit
College from ‘95-‘99… our student ID was your SSN, and in prob 75% of classes the way attendance was took was a piece of notebook paper passed around the class during the session for you to write both your name and ID (SSN) for everyone to see.
Objective-Holiday597@reddit
Yup, Canadian here and our Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) was posted for everything to do about university life
bjayasuriya@reddit
Oh for sure Every college I wncountered
sharkycharming@reddit
Yup, that's how our grades for exams were posted, with SSNs outside the classroom door. And our SSN was also our library card number at at least one university I attended. I remember because I worked on the circulation desk, and some 'non-traditional' (older, assholes, only men) students would constantly argue with me about having to give their SSN. As though I were the one whose idea it was to have SSN tied to library ID and not a 20 year old library assistant on work-study.
GreenSalsa96@reddit
The military used to publish group orders with everyone's SSN. Not that I would do anything with it, but I have SSNs of multiple GOs and 06s.
What's even crazier is the Senate confirmation process to promote high-ranking senior individuals had their SSNs entered in the Congressional Record.
chartreuse_avocado@reddit
In the 70’s and 80’s my parents driver license number was their SSN and had to written in checks at the grocery store. 🤷🏼♀️
Longjumping_Code_649@reddit
College in 87-89 had ID numbers. Transferred to a college that used SSN. That changed after I graduated because I got all these emails about how to access my new ID and I've never been able to remember it.
Fritz5678@reddit
My school posted all the grades to all the classes by SSN. They would put them on the big glass wall leading to the cafeteria.
FoundationCareful662@reddit
Boomer in college from 82-86 Our school id was SSN. grades posted on wall outside profs office next to the entire 9 digit number. Handed id to checker at cafeteria to gain access etc. When grades mailed to parents SSN was visible in window envelope
An incredible era to live. Wish we could go back there
kznfkznf@reddit
Oh, my college will take the cake with this one - the email addresses that were handed out to every student at time of enrollment was based on a reversible hash of your SSN, so for those people in the know in the comp-sci department everyone's SSN was publicly available in a directory, you just had to run it through a little program. They finally fixed that in 1995. Afterwards students were allotted a 4 character random username to use as their email address.
I just love the fact that the IT dept. of the university is handing out garbage email addresses and then disabling them back the second of graduation, while the fundraising department is desperately trying to keep track of alumni so that they can solicit them for donations, spending millions on postcards and phone-banks to try to find the people whose primary way of contact was yanked.
esk_209@reddit
Yep! I also remember when SSNs were printed on checks!
Fodraz@reddit
When I was in college, you had to put your student ID, which was SSN, on every check, so most of us did go on & have them printed
C-ute-Thulu@reddit
Younger X and this was just being phased out in 2000 when I graduated college.
Fodraz@reddit
They posted the last 4 digits. One year I had a huge auditorium-style class and went to see my grade & was shocked to see a B+, because I'd been pretty slack. I kept scanning & found that number combination again, with a C (which was mine :( )
Lucky-Resolution890@reddit
Haha this is how I actually learned my numbers.
ZebraBorgata@reddit
Yeah the university used our SSN’s too! I attended roughly the same years you did.
Nightgasm@reddit
We used student ID #s. Haven't used mine in over 30 years yet I still remember it.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
My oldest married a marine and their ID cards all have their SSN on them, and her medical card had his on it too. 😬
Rillion25@reddit
Yeah, our social security numbers were also our college ID numbers. So whenever the card reader at the cafeteria was down I had to give the cashier my social security number and they would write it down to key into the system so it could deduct one of my 20 weekly meal credits.
For some reason I developed a case of situational dyslexia whenever the card reader was down and would mix up a couple digits of my social security number.
Of course now I occasionally mix it up by accident cause I said it wrong so many times in college to get a free meal.
esk_209@reddit
Mine was my drivers license number as well.
Which_Sherbet7945@reddit
I used to get mine printed on my checks, which was considered good practice at the time, for some reason. Name, address, phone number, bank account, and SSN, all on one little piece of paper that you might give someone at a garage sale for a $7 nightstand. smh
Catgirl1972@reddit
I also remember playing credit card bills by check, and writing out the whole credit card number on the memo line!
Reality-Sloth-28@reddit
I worked in the financial aid office around 20004. We used to HAVE to use the student’s social, but all students were assigned a random mix of numbers for their school id. They rolled that out around 2003. The school id’s linked me to their social and everything anyways. I believe I even had access to the parents’ SSN’s. It was wild!
Normal-Sun450@reddit
Yes! Absolutely
d-synt@reddit
Yes, this was the norm at the University of Michigan 1995-1999, on lists hung up in the hallways. I went to grad school at a different university in the early-mid 2000s and was a TA. I remember asking our lead prof if we would post grades like this next to our doors, and she looked at me like I had three heads. I learned that day that this apparently wasn’t a universal practice at U.S. universities and/or security had tightened up between the 90s and 2000s…
TrickyCartographer73@reddit
That’s what we used (92-96) for everything. Using my SSN in college is how I came to memorize it.
traveling_gal@reddit
I encouraged my kids to memorize theirs in high school because I assumed they'd need it for this purpose. Then their college used their student ID numbers instead, because obviously having your SSN out there is not ok anymore (probably wasn't ok in the late 80s either, but oh well!).
Jaludus85@reddit
In Louisiana your social also went on your driver's license.
southdakotagirl@reddit
Same in South Dakota till late 90s or early 2000. I dont remember when it changed but I dont know my drivers license number now.
Ok_Cucumber_7954@reddit
Yes (early 90s) but I also had an additional experience: When I was a freshman in college, I noticed a stack of paper outside the register’s office (old green bar tractor-feed continuous line printer paper) with student names, home address, dorm room, phone numbers, major, and SSN.
Since the school used SSN to register for mainframe computer accounts && they limited your time on the servers based on your login account, I snagged the stack and used the info to create dozens of extra accounts (choosing non CS majors) to obtain more mainframe time.
TroyTony1973@reddit
To use a check at a military base store/gas station you had to print your social on your check, so they could have your social and routing/account numbers
newbris@reddit
Did they not have a student ID they could have used?
susiqzer@reddit
They did… it was the SSN. 🤣
newbris@reddit
Oh dear ha ha. I guess the world was much more private back then overall so it didn’t seem as big a deal.
susiqzer@reddit
It was a very different world, for sure!
This did change at some point while I was in college (late 90’s) and they stopped posting our SSNs.
blana242@reddit
Started in 1994. My first semester, they posted grades by full SSN. By the second semester, they posted just the last 4 digits. By the time I graduated, no posted grades outside the doors. But my ID badge the whole time had my full SSN as my student number.
R86Reddit@reddit
My student ID number in college (1986-1990) literally was my social security number plus one more digit.
highknees69@reddit
Yep. And old bank statements up through the 90a printed the SSN on them. Found that when moving and realized I had to shred a ton of docs.
RandomObserver13@reddit
Both colleges I went to did everything by SSN. That was your student ID. I was an RA, so we had printouts of everyone in the hall, though I think they started to limit that in later years to just the director’s copy. I still remember my girlfriend at the time’s SSN from visiting her. Hell, our student email addresses had the last 4 of our SSN in them. Crazy. I remember getting my SSN when I was like 13 or 14 and reading the paperwork about keeping it private and it shouldn’t be used as an ID, but then immediately that’s what everyone did and you had no choice.
bluewarbler9@reddit
Oh, yes. I took a community college class before 8th grade so I had my SSN memorized before I was 13, as it went on every paper we turned in. Later, in college (class of ‘93), yes, lists of everyone’s numbers remained common. I discovered this week that my 20-year-old still doesn’t know her own SSN because she almost never needs it!
Skatchbro@reddit
Retired Army here. I have copies of orders dating back to 1983 that list SSNs for dozens of people at a time.
1Pip1Der@reddit
Was about to say "OP wants never military".
They had a freaking WALL chart with everyone in the platoon, with SS#s, in the butterbar's office.
Musubi0420@reddit
Carolina in 02-05 still had the posted ssn on a wall. It was wild
93195@reddit
Not just grades. We had SSNs were printed on our checks (most places required SSN written on a check to cash it), SSNs were our driver’s license numbers, our student IDs, pretty much everything else.
Nobody gave it a second thought. Different times.
WatermelonMachete43@reddit
Yes, so we knew all of pur classmates' SSNs because the list was posted in alphabetical order.
epeepunk@reddit
Yup. Boston University 1985-1989.
thesupineporcupine@reddit
76’er here, freshman year was 94. I caught this too lol.
idkidc28@reddit
Was in college in the late 90s they still used ssn. They converted to a different number after and now I can’t ever access my transcripts easily. However, I now work for the government and the fact that they use my ssn and full name for everything is major red flags.
EquiMax2025@reddit
Yes. Some profs at UMass in the 1980s did this. For a long time, our SSN was also on our drivers licence.
While it seems crazy now, I think there was a lot less harm someone could do with it back before the internet. That's my gut feeling, but I can't explain why. Someone could certainly open up a credit card with your SSN back then, I think.
Born_Key_1962@reddit
My university was way more secure (1989-1993). They added a 1 before the SSN, then plastered that everywhere.
conspicuousmatchcut@reddit
Haha mine added a random digit at the end
OddButterscotch2849@reddit
Probably a checksum, not random
Street-Avocado8785@reddit
Yes. We didn’t think anything of it
Murky_Possibility_68@reddit
Around that same time, social security numbers were also my bank's choice of account numbers.
Small_Dog_8699@reddit
Also my student id #
MickeyMySpiritAnimal@reddit
Yes, My University (SUNY) used SSNs. I just came across a paper I wrote and on the cover was my name, my FULL SSN, and the Course title! 🤔 The military used our SSNs to about 10 years ago, then they stopped. I’m surprised more of us were not victims of identity theft. 😜
grateful_john@reddit
My college used our SSN as our student ID number, printed on our student ID card. Same with my health insurance for a while as well.
whomovedmycheezwhiz@reddit
Yes! My university did that (1986-1990). Once I was so anxious to see my grade that I climbed into the building through an open window after hours when the building was locked.
Expert_Habit9520@reddit
I was going through some old stuff in my closet and found a computer program from early 1991 I had printed out at my college computer lab. The cover page for the printout used the last 6 digits of my social security number, LOL. That’s how each person could tell which printout was theirs.
So at least it wasn’t the whole social security number, but last 6 digits does make it way easier for someone to guess it.
PalliativeOrgasm@reddit
Especially with how predictable the first three digits were (based on location where the card was applied for, which started happening at birth the year millions of children disappeared… and the IRS started requiring dependent SSNs to claim the deduction.
HIMcDonagh@reddit
We submitted Scantron test cards with our entire Social Security number (no names). Grades were posted by SS #. This was 1983-1987 at a major Midwest University
Ckn-bns-jns@reddit
That’s a lot nicer than what our hockey coaches used to pin up outside the locker room after tryouts. It would be a list of first and last names with a line at some point and anyone below that was cut. Actually glad I got to experience rejection like this, made me stronger.
Pillsy74@reddit
My initial university ID (1991-1995) was my SSN with a 4 on the end. By the time I left, I had a random number. Don’t remember when the change happened.
alabamaterp@reddit
Yes, when I enrolled in college in Fall of 1993 everything was done by Social Security Number and it was also our Student ID number. I still have my picture ID and it has my SSN on it.
BranderChatfield@reddit
You're asking me to remember something so detailed from 40 years ago? Yikes, what did I have for breakfast this morning? (-;
Sunny-Shine-96@reddit
My university used last 4 digits of SSN.
lunicorn@reddit
I remember my stats grades were posted with the last four digits of our SSN, and I found out there was someone else in the class with the same last four digits.
atomicham@reddit
Same for me. By the end though, we had switched to student id numbers.
I can still remember the big rolling boards outside the physics auditorium and searching through green/white lined paper of dot matrix output searching for my ssn.
Low_Chest449@reddit
Yes, I remember punching in my SSN # on the touch tone phone keypad to register for classes. It was our ID and we had to use it everywhere.
Door_Number_Four@reddit
I went to a magnet HS that did that in the mid 90s. It was way down on the list of messed up stuff they did.
They ended up writing academic journal papers on how NOT to run gifted and talented programs off of that place.
Nervous_Survey_7072@reddit
My university ID issued in 1989 has my SS embossed on it
Rredhead926@reddit
I was in college in the mid 1990s. Our student ID numbers were our SSNs - printed right on the front of the card.
flagrantstickfoul@reddit
at university (1989) we were assigned a student ID # and that, with no other identifying information, was used on publicly posted grades
blackpony04@reddit
Heck yes, our SSN was on everything in college and beyond. I still have some of my college papers and just saw one in a box while bringing up the Xmas decorations from the basement. Plain as day, right under my name, was my SSN. That paper was from 1991.
_pamelab@reddit
When I was in college our SSN was our ID number. You had to verbally tell the language lab guy your SSN or you wouldn’t get credit for your time.
ViaBromantica@reddit
No, oddly enough my school used our student ID numbers from the start. Michigan State, go Spartans, woo.
punkshoe8@reddit
Our student ID number was our SSN plus a random number tacked on to the end. I’m 55 and I still have to think really hard when I’m asked for the last 4 digits of my SSN.
killervirgo@reddit
I had both experiences. I went to a community college in Upstate NY that used the entire SSN as the ID, but was force to change to student ID numbers because of a new state law. Transferred to a university in Western NY and they always had a "person number" instead of using SSN.
philly-buck@reddit
I have used your transcript to get several jobs. Thank you.
PGHNeil@reddit
I was in the military during Reagan/Bush 41 and my SSN was my service numnber.
enginerdsean@reddit
Yep. Same here. Our SSN was our student ID number and all grades were posted publicly with that association/reference rather than by name. Me (1969) and college + grad school 1987-1993.
4Jaxon@reddit
Mine did the same. We were so naive.
Splorkster70@reddit
my campus did this but not your whole SSN...just the last 6 digits...
Overall_Lobster823@reddit
God yes. We had a "wailing wall". Where all the grades for the college were posted OUTSIDE. Stapled to a bulletin board by SSN. During break you'd see those little green computer strips of grades and SSNs blowing around campus.
(1983-87)