here's what i currently have ... using your column width of 170 ...
Code:
<style>
.credfont
{
font-weight:bold;
font-size:12px;
padding:0px 0px 0px 4px;
color: #f00;
}
</style>
<table width="170px" border="1">
<tr>
<td width="170">
<span style="float:left;">
<select name="Subjects" id="Subjects" multiple="multiple" size="2">
<option>Maths</option>
<option>Science</option>
<option>PT</option>
<option>Arts</option>
</select></span><div class="credfont">( Hold Ctrl key 4 multiple )</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
and the attached is what it looks like.