Where Did U.S. Presidents Go to College? A Fun Look at Their Alma Maters

Ever wonder where America's leaders got their smarts? From Ivy League powerhouses to small-town schools, U.S. presidents have attended a wide mix of colleges—or skipped them altogether! Out of 46 presidencies (counting Grover Cleveland twice), eight leaders never stepped foot on a college campus, proving you don't need a degree to change the world. We've rounded up the full list of presidents and the colleges they attended (or tried to). It's a fascinating journey through history, with fun tidbits about each one's school days. Which president's education surprises you most?

The No-College Club: Self-Made Leaders

These presidents learned through life experience, apprenticeships, and sheer grit—no diplomas required!

1. George Washington – No college; homeschooled and trained as a surveyor.
2. Andrew Jackson – No college; self-taught lawyer.
3. Martin Van Buren – No college; apprenticed as a lawyer.
4. Zachary Taylor – No college; military career from age 16.
5. Millard Fillmore – No college; self-taught and apprenticed as a tailor and lawyer.
6. Abraham Lincoln – No college; self-educated through books.
7. Andrew Johnson – No college; tailor and self-taught.
8. Grover Cleveland – No college; taught school briefly before law apprenticeship.

The College Grads and Attendees: From Ivies to Academies

Here's the rest, listed by presidency order. We've noted if they graduated and added a quick fun fact about their time there. (Note: Some attended multiple schools; we highlight the main ones.)

1. John Adams – Harvard University (graduated 1755). Fun fact: He was a top debater and later taught at Harvard before law.
2. Thomas Jefferson – College of William & Mary (graduated 1762). Fun fact: Jefferson founded the school's honor code and loved studying languages there.
3. James Madison – College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) (graduated 1771). Fun fact: Madison studied Latin, Greek, and philosophy, and even graduated early to fight in the Revolutionary War!
4. James Monroe – College of William & Mary (attended, no degree; left for the war). Fun fact: He joined the fight for independence mid-studies, becoming a hero at Trenton.
5. John Quincy Adams – Harvard University (graduated 1787). Fun fact: At just 7, he watched the Battle of Bunker Hill—talk about early history lessons!
6. William Henry Harrison – Hampden-Sydney College (attended, no degree); University of Pennsylvania (medicine, no degree). Fun fact: He studied classics at Hampden-Sydney but left for the military life.
7. John Tyler – College of William & Mary (graduated 1807). Fun fact: He was a star debater and studied law there—the school has produced three presidents total!
8. James K. Polk – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (graduated 1818). Fun fact: Polk was salutatorian and paid his way by teaching school.
9. Franklin Pierce – Bowdoin College (graduated 1824). Fun fact: He roomed with future writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—talk about literary roommates!
10. James Buchanan – Dickinson College (graduated 1809). Fun fact: Expelled at first for bad behavior, he returned and became class president.
11. Ulysses S. Grant – United States Military Academy at West Point (graduated 1843). Fun fact: He hated math but graduated 21st in his class—West Point has two presidential grads.
12. Rutherford B. Hayes – Kenyon College (graduated 1842); Harvard Law School (graduated 1845). Fun fact: Valedictorian at Kenyon, he later taught school to pay for law books.
13. James A. Garfield – Williams College (graduated 1856). Fun fact: He started at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College) as a janitor and teacher!
14. Chester A. Arthur – Union College (graduated 1848). Fun fact: He was president of the debate club—Union has two presidential alumni.
15. Benjamin Harrison – Miami University (Ohio) (graduated 1852). Fun fact: He was a top student and later taught there—grandson of another president!
16. William McKinley – Allegheny College (attended, no degree); Albany Law School (attended, no degree). Fun fact: Left Allegheny due to illness during the Civil War buildup.
17. Theodore Roosevelt – Harvard University (graduated 1880); Columbia Law School (attended, no degree). Fun fact: Harvard's most famous naturalist—he boxed and collected specimens on campus.
18. William Howard Taft – Yale University (graduated 1878); University of Cincinnati College of Law (graduated 1880). Fun fact: Yale's first president to become Chief Justice too—he was the heaviest student there!
19. Woodrow Wilson – Princeton University (graduated 1879); Johns Hopkins University (PhD 1886). Fun fact: He played football at Princeton and later became its president.
20. Warren G. Harding – Ohio Central College (graduated 1882). Fun fact: He edited the school newspaper and dreamed of journalism from day one.
21. Calvin Coolidge – Amherst College (graduated 1895). Fun fact: Known as "Silent Cal," he was class salutatorian and loved debating quietly.
22. Herbert Hoover – Stanford University (graduated 1895). Fun fact: The first president from a Western school—he studied geology and went straight to mining adventures.
23. Franklin D. Roosevelt – Harvard University (graduated 1903); Columbia Law School (attended, passed bar). Fun fact: He was editor of the Harvard Crimson newspaper.
24. Harry S. Truman – No college; attended business and law schools briefly, no degree. Fun fact: He read law books on his own and became a haberdasher instead.
25. Dwight D. Eisenhower – United States Military Academy at West Point (graduated 1915). Fun fact: Football star there—he later commanded D-Day as a general.
26. John F. Kennedy – Harvard University (graduated 1940). Fun fact: Started at Princeton but health issues sent him to Harvard, where he wrote his senior thesis on Britain.
27. Lyndon B. Johnson – Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University) (graduated 1930); Georgetown University Law School (attended). Fun fact: He taught kids in a poor Mexican-American school right after graduating.
28. Richard Nixon – Whittier College (graduated 1934); Duke University School of Law (graduated 1937). Fun fact: At Whittier, he founded the Orthogonian Club for the "underdogs."
29. Gerald Ford – University of Michigan (graduated 1935); Yale Law School (graduated 1941). Fun fact: Star football player at Michigan—he turned down pro offers.
30. Jimmy Carter – United States Naval Academy (graduated 1946). Fun fact: Top 10% of his class; he wanted to be like Admiral Hyman Rickover.
31. Ronald Reagan – Eureka College (graduated 1932). Fun fact: Led a campus revolt against budget cuts—his acting career started in college plays.
32. George H. W. Bush – Yale University (graduated 1948). Fun fact: Joined Skull and Bones secret society and was a baseball team captain post-WWII.
33. Bill Clinton – Georgetown University (graduated 1968); Yale Law School (graduated 1973). Fun fact: Georgetown's class president; he met Hillary at Yale.
34. George W. Bush – Yale University (graduated 1968). Fun fact: Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother—followed his dad to Yale.
35. Barack Obama – Occidental College (attended); Columbia University (graduated 1983); Harvard Law School (graduated 1991). Fun fact: Transferred from Occidental to Columbia; became Harvard Law Review president.
36. Donald Trump – Fordham University (attended); University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School, graduated 1968). Fun fact: Focused on real estate deals even during Wharton classes.
37. Joe Biden – University of Delaware (graduated 1965); Syracuse University College of Law (graduated 1968). Fun fact: Double major in history and political science at Delaware; overcame a stutter through debate.

Why This List Rocks

From Harvard's eight alumni (the most ever!) to military academies shaping war heroes, these schools show education comes in all shapes. Fun twist: No single college guarantees the presidency, but Yale and Harvard tie for the lead. Dreaming of the Oval Office? Hit the books—or the bookshelves, like Lincoln!