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Fact check: How did Donald Trump's academic performance at Fordham compare to his time at University of Pennsylvania?
Executive Summary
Donald Trump attended Fordham University for two years before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; publicly available reporting documents transfers and disputes over his records but provides no definitive, contemporaneous grade transcript comparison between Fordham and Penn. Investigations and fact-checks have debunked at least one claimed Fordham report card as fabricated, while eyewitness accounts and legal testimony describe an unremarkable Fordham tenure and heavy emphasis on Wharton in Trump’s own public claims [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What people are claiming and why it matters — the narrative battle over Trump’s college record
Reporting and public claims split into three main assertions: that Trump had weak or average academic performance at Fordham, that he attended and graduated from Wharton at Penn, and that someone circulated or fabricated Fordham grade documents to influence perception. Fact-check outlets flagged at least one widely shared Fordham report card as a forgery, undermining documentary evidence offered online [5] [1]. Political actors and Trump’s own messaging have amplified his Wharton credentials as a marker of competence, making any Fordham-Penn comparison politically salient and contested in news coverage [6] [3].
2. The documentary trail — what verified records exist and what has been disproven
Contemporary, authenticated transcripts from either institution have not been publicly disclosed in reliable media reporting provided here, and at least one circulated Fordham report card image has been determined to be fabricated by multiple fact-checkers, which limits the documentary basis for a direct numeric grade comparison [2] [5] [1]. The verified facts are limited to enrollment and transfer: Trump enrolled at Fordham, later transferred to Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from Penn. Beyond enrollment and degree conferral, public sources lack original gradebooks or official GPA disclosures to support head-to-head academic comparison [1].
3. Eyewitness and institutional perspectives — the Fordham picture described by sources
Former University of Pennsylvania admissions personnel and contemporaneous reporting characterize Trump’s Fordham stint as unremarkable and not academically notable, with anecdotal accounts indicating his family’s influence aided the transfer to Penn during a period when admissions standards and practices differed from today [3]. Those accounts suggest Fordham performance was average and not the basis for Trump’s later prominence. However, these are recollections rather than verified grade data, so they illuminate reputation and process more than provide measurable academic comparison [3].
4. The Wharton narrative — emphasis, prestige, and public claims
Donald Trump has repeatedly and prominently cited his Wharton education in public statements, using it as a credential to bolster claims of business and intellectual authority; researchers documented hundreds of mentions over recent years, indicating strategic emphasis on Penn rather than Fordham in Trump’s own narrative [6]. Media coverage and political opponents likewise highlight Wharton as a distinguishing credential. Official confirmation that Trump graduated from Penn exists in public records, but those records do not, in the provided material, include detailed grade transcripts to quantify academic performance relative to Fordham [6] [1].
5. Allegations of suppression and legal testimony — why grades remain private
Legal testimony from Michael Cohen and other reporting allege that Trump attempted to prevent the release of grades and SAT scores from his colleges, including threats to institutions, which, if true, helps explain the paucity of primary grade evidence and fuels speculation about comparative performance [4]. These claims are part of broader investigative narratives and provide context for why authentic grade documents are scarce in public discourse. They are allegations and legal testimony rather than released school records, so they explain data gaps without providing direct academic comparison [4].
6. Recent fact-checks and political reporting — what the latest coverage adds
Fact-checks in 2024 and 2025 established that at least one purported Fordham report card circulating online was fabricated, reinforcing that not all available images or claims are reliable and cautioning against using those artifacts as evidence when comparing institutions [5] [1]. More recent 2025 reporting focused on Trump’s political overtures to Penn — a separate issue about influence and policy — but did not produce new academic records to answer the performance comparison, leaving the core factual gap intact despite high-profile attention to the topic [7] [8].
7. The bottom line — what is established and what remains unknown
What is established: Trump attended Fordham, transferred to and graduated from Wharton at Penn, and has repeatedly cited his Wharton affiliation; some circulated Fordham documents have been debunked as forgeries [1] [6] [5]. What remains unknown: verifiable grade-by-grade comparisons or GPA data from Fordham and Penn; eyewitness recollections and testimony suggest Fordham performance was average, but those are not substitutes for contemporaneous academic records. The absence of authenticated transcripts prevents a definitive factual comparison between his academic performance at Fordham and at the University of Pennsylvania [3] [4].