Presidential Degrees—One Size Does Not Fit All

It’s that time of year again.  All of the tests have been taken, and it’s time to put away the books and for some, graduate from institutions of higher learning.  Many will continue on to other levels of education.  Others will hit the work force and try to secure one of those increasingly rare commodities we call jobs.

Of the 44 U.S. Presidents, only two since 1869 did not attend college.   Grover Cleveland dropped out of school at the age of 16 to help support his family, and then studied law on his own to pass the bar exam.  Harry S. Truman worked until the age of 33, and then attended the University of MO, but did not receive his degree. (source)

George Washington, while he did not attend college, obtained his surveyor’s certificate from The College of William and Mary.

Harvard University holds the record for graduating the most U.S. Presidents.  Eight of our commanders-in-chief attended this prestigious university.  It also seemed to run in a couple of presidential families.  Both John and John Quincy Adams attended, as well as both Theodore, and Franklin Roosevelt.  Joining them as alumni are John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

One of the more interesting presidential college degrees was Herbert Hoover.  He attended Stanford University during the first year of its existence in 1891.  He received a degree in mine engineering. (source)

While many future presidents obtained law degrees, law was not the only thing these men majored in during their undergraduate years.   William Henry Harrison studied medicine.  Bill Clinton received his B.S. in Foreign Service, and George W. Bush received his undergraduate degree in history. (source)

If you are among the scholars receiving your sheepskin this spring, congratulations!  Keep in mind that if you ever wanted to become president, there is no set formula—one size does not fit all!!