[michaelt]

  What does 1st class marks pulled down to a 2 mean?

He means "I got a B+ overall, but I got an A+ on everything I turned in, I just didn't turn in some graded assignments" and his degree was graded using the British classification system [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_undergraduate_degree_c...

[walshemj]

Seems a bit silly to blow of the course work and not get a first - also not a terribly good indicator that they will adapt well to the workplace.

Obvs if its a former Polly the difference between a first and a 2.1 isn't as important as an Oxbridge First.