# Presidents' academic records **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688 "2008-08-20T16:53:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/1 "2008-08-20T16:53:30Z")
Which U.S. presidents had the best academic records and which had the worst? I realize that a lot of the standards and opportunities have changed with time. However, generally who graduated from prestigious schools, had high class ranks, high test scores, post-graduate degrees, and, conversely, who falls on the other end of the spectrum? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/2 "2008-08-20T17:08:04Z")
Many presidents have no real academic records (Lincoln, for one). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/3 "2008-08-20T17:10:08Z")
Harry Truman never obtained a bachelor’s degree, although he did make an aborted attempt at law school. He was pretty smart, regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/4 "2008-08-20T17:11:23Z")
Well, ok. Of the Presidents, the only ones without any formal academic education were Washington, Taylor, and Andrew Johnson, you would you put them on that one end of the spectrum? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/5 "2008-08-20T17:12:24Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Many presidents have no real academic records (Lincoln, for one). [/QUOTE] Lincoln had about 18 months of school as a child. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/6 "2008-08-20T17:17:54Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Lincoln had about 18 months of school as a child. [/QUOTE] And he passed an examination to qualify as a lawyer. In other words, for his time and place, he was relatively well-educated, though largely self-taught. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/7 "2008-08-20T17:51:38Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] And he passed an examination to qualify as a lawyer. In other words, for his time and place, he was relatively well-educated, though largely self-taught. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it depends how you define “educated”, and in the list of presidents who lacked any formal academic education, Washington had tutors and was apprenticed as a surveyor, Johnson was apprenticed to a tailor, and Taylor had a bunch of private tutors. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/8 "2008-08-20T18:12:37Z")
I don’t have any special affection for Bill Clinton but he would be at the top or near it. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/9 "2008-08-20T18:43:56Z")
Perhaps maybe starting with the 20th century presidents would result in more meaningful information as clearly education was not as formalized for quite a few of the early presidents. This [site](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_college_education) at least lists what level of education that various presidents had. It looks like Woodrow Wilson would be near the top of the list. He got his undergraduate at Princeton, spent a year in law school at Virginia, and then got his phd at Johns Hopkins. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/10 "2008-08-20T18:46:53Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Well, ok. Of the Presidents, the only ones without any formal academic education were Washington, Taylor, and Andrew Johnson, you would you put them on that one end of the spectrum? [/QUOTE] Washington did graduate from William and Mary. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/11 "2008-08-20T20:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=LonghornDave] Washington did graduate from William and Mary. [/QUOTE] He never attended William and Mary, though. He just received a surveyor’s license from them. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-academic-records/460688/12 "2008-08-20T21:21:24Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I don’t have any special affection for Bill Clinton but he would be at the top or near it. [/QUOTE] True. He won a Rhodes Scholarships, which is a pretty select & prestigious award, and is based in part of his prior academic record.