A 99-year-old woman has finally got her degree from Beal College in Bangor, Maine in the north-eastern US, after a 75 year wait.

Jessie White could not afford the $5 transcript fee in 1939, and so never officially graduated despite having successfully completed the course.

A friend recently heard of her predicament and paid the fee for her, which meant that she could finally graduate at a special ceremony on Friday, where she was awarded her degree in stenography and bookkeeping by college president Alan Stehle.

Despite not having the official certificate, White worked for many years as a bookkeeper, according to ABC News.