“Einstein was bad at school too,” Wolfgang points out. “I never went to university.”
That it pains them is obvious, otherwise they wouldn't own so many college-level textbooks, trying to catch up on their own time. They don't think they can enroll now, they're an illegal immigrant, though Wolfgang, who is white, is probably the last person to be in danger of being deported. Anyway, they are also older than all the other incoming freshmen. The truth is they're embarrassed.