return selected field for drop down list

[Yousef Altaf]

I want if the user clicks submit to return the the selected value when the form reloads

that what I try and no luck

    <?php
    $getData = $db->prepare("SELECT * FROM first_university_degree_list");
    if ($getData->execute()) {
    $res = $getData->get_result();
    while ($data = $res->fetch_array()) {
    ?>
    <option value="<?php echo $data['univ_degree']; ?>" <?php if($FirstUniversityDegree == $data['univ_degree']) echo 'selected="selected"'; ?>><?php echo $data['univ_degree']; ?></option>
    <?php
    }
    }
    ?>

clearing the question
I have a validation for every field on the form so if any of this fields return false the options on the drop menu will return to the first item I need it to return on the selected item the users selected

[Dormilich]

you need to set the selected property for the option that holds the value the user has posted.