Does Trump Have A College Degree? Fact-checking Trump’s Education History

Donald Trump was born on 14th June 1946. He is the fourth child of Fred Trump and Mary Trump. 

His parents were born from German and Scotland immigrants, respectively. Today, Trump is known as an American businessman and media personality. 

Donald Trump was the 45th president of America: from 2017 to 2020. Trump had a scandalous term and was impeached twice. 

This put him in records as the only president to be impeached twice in the USA. Trump made a lot of bad emotional decisions during his reign. 

The decisions were detrimental to the United States’ social, economic, and political aspects. In addition to poor governance, Trump’s academic qualifications have been under scrutiny. 

There are no clear academic records that prove he attended any college. This has made many US citizens and people around the world interested in the question.

Does Trump Have a College Degree?

Yes, Donald John Trump has a college degree. He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1968 he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics. 

The funny thing is the University has been notoriously quiet about Trump’s time there. Before joining Pennsylvania, Trump attended Fordham University. The University described his grades as “respectable.” 

Donald J. Trump Education Background 

Donald Trump was first enrolled in Kyiv Forest School. The school was established in 1918, and his father, Frederick Trump, was on the governing board. 

The school was a private pre-kindergarten and was for the rich. Trump’s father was a successful businessman and could maintain Trump’s education. He attended the school until 7th grade.

1. The Military School

Donald Trump was transferred to a military school in 1959.  The school is located in Cornwall-On-Hudson in the upstate of New York. 

His parents were worried about his unruly behaviors. However, the reason for his transfer is not so clear. 

He attended military school from eighth grade to the completion of his high school education. He was quite vibrant at high school and was a part of various activities and associations. 

2. Fordham University

Fordham University is not denomination specific. It is a Jesuit Catholic university that was founded in 1841. 

The Catholic doctrines have been incorporated into the school’s curriculum. However, Trump was a Presbyterian. 

It does admit students with a different religious background. It seems like the catholic doctrines did not influence Trump in any way: judging from his current behaviors. 

Trump’s time at Fordham University is of interest. There’s very little information about his time in Fordham. Trump never released the transcripts for the two years he was at Fordham. 

He gave warnings to the University if they attempted to release the transcripts. There is also little information about his involvement in any extracurricular activities. According to the national university rankings, Fordham ranks 66th. 

3. The Wharton School of Business

Donald Trump then joined the Wharton school of business after two ghost years at Fordham. The Wharton School of business in Philadelphia was founded in 1740. 

It ranked 9th by the national university rankings and is one of the eight ivy schools in the United States. 

Donald claims he decided to join the ivy school to get actual competition. According to him, Fordham was looser, and his intellectual capacity was greater. He could find the needed growth from Fordham. 

Donald Trump was more vocal about his time at Wharton. He was so boastful and made various comparisons of him and barrack. 

He claims to have graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wharton. However, just like in Fordham, Donald Trump’s years at Wharton are quite unclear. 

His academic performance is not clear, and he refused to remove his transcripts. He also sent a warning to the school that he would sue it if it releases his transcripts.

Therefore his transcripts and class ranking are unknown. It’s a crime to give out a student’s information without absolute permission from 

them.

The University does not have any record of Trump’s involvement in certain extracurricular activities. He did not belong to any political associations, clubs, or groups. 

Why Are People So Concerned About Trump’s College Degree?

In a year, there have been blog posts, articles, and forums talking about the academic achievements of various presidents.

People have been doing deep dives in the yearbooks and old honors policies. It was never a big deal. 

However, Donald Trump’s case was quite different. A lot of speculations about his academic achievements were raised by his claims. 

The claims were about Obamas and his academic records. It made people more curious about his educational history. 

1. Donald Trump Criticism of Obama’s Academic Records

Donald Trump is and will always be a funny character. The issue of his college degree began during the presidential campaigns. 

Donald criticized and questioned Barack Obama’s academic records. According to Trump, he was most superior to Obama. 

Trump ridiculed Obama for not being remembered by the majority of his Columbia classmates. He further questioned the Obamas Columbia and Harvard certifications. 

He wondered how a poor boy with no solid connections would have joined an ivy school. It’s because his family connection had actualized his admission to Pennsylvania.

Funny thing, he was no different to Obama. His vocal criticism against Obama made many think Trump was superior intellectually. The media and other groups decided to do a background check on Trump’s education.

Obama went to Occidental and Trump to Fordham. Both had attended less competitive universities in their first two years. 

They later transferred and got their bachelor’s degrees from ivy schools. Obama got his degree from Columbia, while Trump got his from Pennsylvania.

Both never graduated with honors. Also, Trump wasn’t well remembered by most of his Pennsylvania classmates. 

Obama then earned a “magna cum laude” from Harvard law school. While Donald Trump never attended any grad school. 

2. He Lied To Have Graduated as Best in His Class

The college degree of Donald Trump was never a big deal. However, he decided to make it by speculating about Barack Obama’s GPA. 

Donald Trump then influenced the media outlets. He asked them to report that he graduated first in his class. 

That’s from Wharton School of Pennsylvania. After lying about his grades, he threatened to sue the institutions he attended if they released his GPA. 

What amused people is not the GPA itself but the lie. Why did he lie? A background check was carried out on his education by the interested parties. 

They found out Trump had lied about his GPA. He was not even close and had graduated without honors. 

To graduate with honors at Pennsylvania, the GPA had to be more than 3.40. This means he was just some other average student or worse.

Or maybe he might have received a sanction for student conduct violations or academic integrity. 

3. He Was So Obsessed About GPA

Then Donald was 72 years old. This made many wonder why a person so old was still obsessed with GPA. That was so childish of him. 

Many public figures have built their wealth without a degree. The likes of Bill Gates, with the years Donald Trump, should have known this. Grades are far less important when it comes to future success. 

The guy has also been so obsessed with his IQ.  It’s not factual but self-reported. Plus, it has no real way of fact-checking it. 

Donald Trump claims to have a greater IQ. He uses this claim to dismiss other people’s facts without directly engaging with them. 

Donald John Trump Net worth

Donald Trump is undoubtedly the wealthiest person ever to have held the United States presidential position. 

However, you should note that Donald Trump’s net worth is just an estimation and not real. 

The former United States president and the businessman refused to give out his tax reports. The tax report does not necessarily show one’s net worth. It can just be used to give a better estimate. 

Donald Trump is also expected to give a financial disclosure of his businesses yearly. The numbers provided by Trump are not always accurate. 

You know his companies are privately owned entities and are not subjected by law to publish financial statements yearly. It’s only the publicly traded companies that are required to do so. 

Donald’s road path to the business started back ago. He worked with his father, Fred Trump. The father was a business genius. 

He developed cheaper housing in Queens and Brooklyn. Today Trump owns several companies around the world. 

He claims to have a net worth of more than $10 billion. In addition to the companies, he holds a notable winery and golf course.

However, the extensive research carried out by Forbes on his magazines claims that Donald Trump has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.

Conclusion 

Donald never attended any public primary and secondary school. He was the son of a very successful businessman

His dad could manage high private school fees. There are also no records of his honors and distinctions. Even though his college years are notable, the lack of records makes them obscure. 

The argument resonated with lots of his supporters. During his campaign years, his supporters were only obsessed with his businesses. 

They pointed out his business prowess and pointed it as proof of qualification for the presidency. However, the inability to successfully review his academic profile raised questions. 

It even harmed his politics. Donald wasn’t able to get trust and support from academics, professionals, and many more.

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