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Colleges and Universities Attended by US Presidents

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Colleges With the Most US Presidents

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    Harvard University (Cambridge, MA): Private Ivy League institution with the most presidential graduates, including John Adams, 1755 and 1758 (Law); John Quincy Adams, 1787 (Law); Rutherford B. Hayes, 1845 (Law); Theodore Roosevelt, 1880 (History & Government, magna cum laude); Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1903 (Bachelor of Arts in History); John F. Kennedy, 1940 (Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs); George W. Bush, 1975 (Master of Business Administration); Barack Obama, 1991 (Juris Doctorate of Law)
  • Yale University (New Haven, CT): Private Ivy League liberal arts institution with the second most US presidential graduates, including William Howard Taft, 1878; Gerald Ford, 1941 (Law School); George H.W. Bush, 1948 (Economics); George W. Bush, 1968 (Bachelor of Arts in History); and Bill Clinton, 1973 (Juris Doctorate of Law)

Colleges With More Than One US President

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    Columbia University (New York, NY): Private Ivy League research university attended by three presidents: Theodore Roosevelt (Law School); Franklin D. Roosevelt (Law School); Barack Obama, 1983 (Political Science)
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  • Princeton University (Princeton, NJ): Private Ivy League research university with two presidential alumni: James Madison 1771 (Latin, Greek, Science, and Philosophy); Woodrow Wilson, 1879 (Political Philosophy and History)
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  • Union College (Schenectady, NY): Private liberal arts and engineering college with two presidential alumni: Chester A. Arthur, 1848, and Jimmy Carter

    Fun Fact: Union was the first-ever college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents in 1795.
  • United States Military Academy (West Point, NY): Fully funded institution charged with the education and training of officers for the US Army, including former presidents Ulysses S. Grant, 1843, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1915
  • University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA): Private comprehensive university with two presidential alumni: William Henry Harrison (Medicine) and Donald J. Trump, 1968 (Economics, The Wharton School of Finance)
  • William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA): Public liberal arts institution and the second-oldest college in the nation with three presidential alumni: Thomas Jefferson, 1762 (Philosophy); James Monroe (Law); and John Tyler, 1807 (Preparatory Program)

    Fun Fact: Monroe dropped out after just months at William & Mary to fight in the American Revolution, which included joining several classmates on a raid of the arsenal of the British royal governor to turn weapons and supplies over to the Virginia militia.

Colleges With One US President

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    Allegheny College (Meadville, PA): Private liberal arts college attended by William McKinley

    Fun fact: McKinley never graduated from Allegheny, leaving because of illness and financial difficulties before the start of the Civil War. He later enlisted in 1861 when the war began and was the last of five presidents to serve.
  • Amherst College (Amherst, MA): Private liberal arts college with one presidential alumnus: Calvin Coolidge, 1895 (Law)
  • Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME): Private liberal arts schools with one presidential alumnus: Franklin Pierce, 1824

    Fun Fact: Pierce attended college with legendary New England writers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
  • Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA): Private liberal arts college with one presidential alumnus: James Buchanan, 1809

    Fun Fact: Buchanan was expelled from Dickinson for bad behavior and later readmitted after pledging a vow of good behavior.
  • Duke University (Durham, NC): Private research university with one presidential alumnus: Richard Nixon, 1937 (Law School)
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  • Eureka College (Eureka, IL): Private Christian liberal arts and sciences college with one presidential alumnus: Ronald Reagan, 1855 (Economics & Sociology)
  • Fordham University (Bronx, NY): Private Jesuit comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: Donald J. Trump
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  • Georgetown University (Washington, DC): Private Catholic liberal arts university with one presidential alumnus: Bill Clinton, 1968 (International Affairs)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA): Public specialized STEM institution with one presidential alumnus: Jimmy Carter

    Fun Fact: Carter transferred into Georgia Tech's ROTC Naval program to study Mathematics for a year to qualify for admission to the US Naval Academy.
  • Georgia Southwestern State University (Americus, GA): Public comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: Jimmy Carter (Engineering)

    Fun Fact: At four schools, Carter is the president who has attended the most colleges and universities in his over 100-year lifetime.
  • Hampden–Sydney College (Hampden-Sydney, VA): Private liberal arts college for men with one presidential alumnus: William Henry Harrison
  • Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD): Private research university with one presidential alumnus: Woodrow Wilson, 1886 (PhD in Political Science and History)
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  • Kenyon College (Gambier, OH): Private liberal arts college with one presidential alumnus: Rutherford B. Hayes, 1842 (Valedictorian)
  • Leiden University (Leiden, NS): Public liberal arts university with one presidential alumnus: John Quincy Adams

    Fun Fact: Adams attended the University at just 13 years old where he started studies in law, medicine, Latin, and Greek.
  • Miami University—Oxford (Oxford, OH): Public comprehensive research university with one presidential alumnus: Benjamin Harrison, 1852
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  • Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA): Private selective liberal arts college with one presidential alumnus: Barack Obama

    Fun Fact: Although he transferred after two years, Obama credits the College as where he began to find his voice as a leader.
  • Stanford University (Stanford, CA): Private research university with one presidential alumnus: Herbert Hoover, 1895 (Mining Engineering)

    Fun Fact: Hoover was one of 400 students in Stanford's inaugural class when the university opened on October 1, 1891.
  • Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY): Private comprehensive research university with one presidential alumnus: Joe Biden, 1968 (Law School)
  • Texas State University (San Marcos, TX): Public comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: Lyndon Johnson, 1930 (Social Studies)
  • United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD): Specialized institution for education and Naval and Marine Corps preparation and commission with one presidential alumnus: Jimmy Carter, 1946, who graduated in the top 10% of his Engineering class
  • University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH): Public research institution with one presidential alumnus: William Howard Taft, 1880 (College of Law)
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  • University of Delaware (Newark, DE): Public land-, sea-, and space-grant comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: Joe Biden, 1965 (History and Political Science)

    Fun Fact: While he initially showed more interest in football, girls, and parties than academics, Biden credits his increased interest in politics to the inspiring 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy.
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  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI): Public comprehensive institution with one presidential alumnus: Gerald Ford, 1935 (Economics)
  • University of Missouri—Kansas City (Kansas City, MO): Public comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: Harry S. Truman
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC): Public comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: James Polk, 1818 (Graduated with honors)
  • University of Oxford (Oxford, UK): The oldest university in the English-speaking world consisting of 36 colleges and with one presidential alumnus: Bill Clinton

    Fun Fact: Clinton won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship while still at Georgetown to study at Oxford for two years, but he had to return to Arkansas early in the spring of 1969 when he was drafted into the Vietnam War. To circumvent service, he enrolled in an ROTC program at the University of Arkansas Law School but never attended, as he returned to Oxford instead.
  • University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA): Public comprehensive university with one presidential alumnus: Woodrow Wilson (Law)
  • Whittier College (Whittier, CA): Private liberal arts college with one presidential alumnus: Richard Nixon, 1934

    Fun Fact: While at Whittier, Nixon earned a reputation for being a triple threat: Formidable debater, stand-out actor in school productions, and successful athlete.
  • Williams College (Williamstown, MA): Private liberal arts college with one presidential alumnus: James A. Garfield, 1856

Bonus Colleges and Presidents

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    Hiram College (Hiram, OH): Private liberal arts colleges with one presidential alumnus and former professor and principal: James A. Garfield (Latin and Greek)
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  • University at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY): Public comprehensive institution founded in 1846 by former president Millard Fillmore

Source: PresidentsUSA and Biography.com

A Legacy of Learning: Colleges and Universities of US Presidents

The path to the presidency often begins on a college campus. While not every U.S. president holds a college degree, the majority have pursued higher education, with many attending some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. These academic journeys, from undergraduate studies to advanced degrees, have played a significant role in shaping the minds and careers of American leaders. The diverse educational backgrounds of presidents highlight the various paths to the White House, from military academies to Ivy League universities and small liberal arts colleges.

Institutions like Harvard and Yale stand out for having educated multiple presidents. Harvard, in particular, has a long history of presidential alumni, including both John Adams and John Quincy Adams, as well as Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. Yale is also a notable alma mater for presidents like William Howard Taft and both George H.W. and George W. Bush. These schools, along with others like Princeton, have contributed to a tradition of academic excellence among those who have held the nation’s highest office.

Beyond the Ivy League, a number of presidents attended other notable institutions. Thomas Jefferson and John Tyler are alumni of the College of William & Mary, while James K. Polk attended the University of North Carolina. Other leaders have come from lesser-known schools, such as Ronald Reagan from Eureka College and Bill Clinton from Georgetown University. This rich tapestry of educational backgrounds shows that there is no single, prescribed route to the presidency. Each president's unique academic experience adds a fascinating layer to their story, offering insight into the intellectual foundation that supported their political careers and shaped their vision for the country.

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