As of 2012, the United States has seen 44 presidencies (Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms).
Of the 43 presidents who have served the republic, some have been great leaders. A few have been abysmal failures.
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(We’re looking at you, James Buchanan.) Most have fallen somewhere on a broad continuum of mediocrity.
Still, it’s a plum job that looks nice on any resume. The pay is relatively low and the work is demanding.
However, the perks include significant free travel, free food and free housing (albeit in a large office building).
If you are thinking about becoming the president of the United States, it definitely pays to attend the right schools and make the right connections. These nine schools are your best bets. All told, 20 of the 43 American presidents – almost 47% — have attended one or more of them.
There’s a slideshow below. If you like esoteric history and trivia, though, keep reading.
Harvard University
Harvard has produced seven presidents of the United States of America, which is just over 16% of the total. John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams each received two degrees from Harvard.
After an embarrassing dry spell of nearly a century, Harvard finally produced another president when all-around bull moose Theodore Roosevelt graduated magna cum laudein 1880. Teddy’s fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, got his sheepskin from Harvard in 1903, majoring in history. John F. Kennedy left the school in 1960 with a diploma in international affairs.
George W. Bush received his B.A. from hated rival Yale but went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School. Most recently, Barack Obama earned a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Yale University
Five American presidents — 11% in all — were Yalies. In 1878, William Howard Taft graduated second in his class at Yale. His nickname was “Old Bill” and he was an intramural wrestling champion. Gerald Ford graduated from Yale Law School in 1941.
George H. W. Bush received an economics degree from Yale in 1948. He was the captain of the Bulldog baseball team. Bill Clinton received his J.D. from Yale in 1973. (He also met fellow student Hillary Rodham there.) George W. Bush, like his father, also attended Yale. He received a B.A. in history in 1968.
US Military Academy
Occasionally, we Americans like to elect highly successful generals to serve as our presidents. Such was the case with Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower, both graduates of West Point. As a cadet, Grant (Class of 1843) was an expert equestrian and a bit of an artist.
Eisenhower (Class of 1915) played running back and linebacker for the football team. Jefferson Davis, president of the ill-fated Confederate States of America during the Civil War, is also an alumnus. He graduated in 1828.
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