What were Donald Trump's academic achievements at Fordham University?
Executive summary
Fordham University confirms Donald Trump attended Fordham College at Rose Hill for two years in the 1960s before transferring to Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania [1]. Multiple fact‑checks say widely circulated “Fordham transcripts” showing low grades are forgeries and Fordham has refused to release private student records, noting federal privacy rules [1] [2] [3].
1. Two years at Fordham, then Wharton — the basic timeline
Trump enrolled at Fordham College at Rose Hill and studied there for two years in the mid‑1960s before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in economics; that timeline is affirmed by Fordham and repeated across reporting [1] [4].
2. No authentic public Fordham transcript — university statement and fact‑checks
Fordham University has publicly called an image purporting to be Trump’s Fordham transcript “a forgery, not an actual Fordham University transcript,” and multiple independent fact‑checks (Reuters, Snopes, AOL/aggregated fact checks) report that the widely shared document is not authentic [1] [2] [3].
3. Why no official release — privacy law and university policy
Fordham and its communications staff explain they follow federal privacy law governing student education records and therefore do not disclose individual transcripts without consent; that institutional posture is the reason no verified, school‑issued grades have been produced publicly [1] [5].
4. Attempts to block disclosure — Cohen’s letter and university confirmation
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, testified he sent letters and that the Trump team sought to prevent disclosure of his academic records; Fordham confirmed a campaign call asking the school not to release records and acknowledged receipt of a letter from Cohen’s office, according to reporting [6] [7].
5. The forged documents and how they were debunked
Fact‑checkers pointed to multiple giveaways in the circulated “report card” images — anachronistic fonts and printing, incorrect address details inconsistent with when Trump attended Fordham, and other inconsistencies — leading outlets and Fordham to label the images fabricated [2] [5].
6. What we do know about Trump’s academic performance — limits of public record
Available sources confirm only enrollment and transfer; they do not provide verified semester‑by‑semester grades, GPA, or class rankings from Fordham because Fordham has not released such records and the circulated transcripts are judged fake [1] [2]. Therefore any specific numeric claims about Trump’s Fordham GPA or grades are unsupported by the cited reporting.
7. Competing narratives and incentives to publicize or suppress records
Reporting shows two competing incentives: critics and media outlets have sought academic records to scrutinize claims about Trump’s credentials, while Trump’s team sought to prevent release — as shown by Cohen’s letter and a campaign call — invoking legal threats and privacy [6] [7]. Fordham’s insistence on privacy aligns with federal law but also leaves a coverage gap that fuels speculation.
8. How this gap shaped public perception and subsequent misinformation
Because Fordham would not (and legally could not without consent) release private educational records, forged documents filled the vacuum; fact‑checkers subsequently debunked those artifacts, but the initial circulation amplified perceptions about his academic performance that are not supported by verified school records [2] [3].
9. What would count as authoritative proof going forward
An authoritative record would be either a verified transcript produced by Fordham with appropriate consent or a statement from Trump authorizing release of his Fordham records; absent that, independent outlets will continue to rely on institutional statements and sworn testimony [1] [6]. Available sources do not mention any verified release of Trump’s Fordham grades.
10. Bottom line for readers
Documented facts: Trump attended Fordham for two years before transferring to Wharton [1] [4]. Widely shared “Fordham transcripts” claiming low grades have been labeled forgeries by Fordham and multiple fact‑checkers [1] [2] [3]. Because Fordham enforces student‑record privacy, no verified semester grades from his Fordham years have been made public in the cited reporting [1] [5].