Given the political season and the fact that I’m feeling somewhat uninspired (I’m in the midst of assembling my tax data for my CPA – need I say more?), I decided to examine the college attendance of selected present day politicians. Here goes:
Having attended Occidental College near Los Angeles for one year, President Barack Obama transferred to Columbia for his Bachelor’s degree. He also completed a JD from Harvard University Law School.
Republican nomination seeker Mitt Romney attended Stanford, but transferred and completed his undergrad degree from BYU. He additionally completed an MBA and JD from Harvard.
Rick Santorum received his Bachelor’s degree from Penn State, MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and JD from the Dickinson School of Law.
Newt Gingrich collected his BA from Emory University, and an MA and PhD in History from Tulane.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton completed her undergraduate studies at Wellesley (and was their first-ever student graduation speaker), and a JD from Yale.
Vice President Joe Biden finished his Bachelor’s at the University of Delaware and his JD at Syracuse.
Current House Speaker John Bohner completed his undergraduate degree at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi completed her Bachelor’s at Trinity Washington University.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper wrapped up a BS and MS in Geology from Wesleyan University, while Denver Mayor Michael Hancock earned a Bachelor’s from Hastings College in NE, and an MPA from CU-Denver.
Interesting stuff! One tentative conclusion is that among leading politicians college graduation is the norm, and often from prestigious institutions.