Why did Donald Trump transfer from Fordham to Wharton?
Executive summary
Donald Trump began college at Fordham University in 1964 and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School as a junior, graduating with a B.S. in economics in 1968 [1] [2]. Contemporary accounts and Trump’s own memoir say he transferred to “test” himself against a more prestigious business program, while reporting from the Washington Post and later profiles say family connections — notably a call from his brother to a Wharton admissions official — helped facilitate the transfer [3] [4] [5].
1. Why Trump says he left Fordham: testing himself at Wharton
Trump’s own explanation in The Art of the Deal and recollections recorded by Fordham’s student paper say he left Fordham at the end of spring 1966 because “as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best,” framing the move as an academic and reputational step up to Wharton’s business program [3]. Multiple modern overviews repeat that Trump spent two years at Fordham before transferring to Wharton and graduating in 1968, showing the narrative was consistent in school histories and alumni records [1] [2].
2. Reporting that social ties eased the transfer
Reporting by outlets including The Washington Post, summarized in later articles, says Trump’s transfer was aided by social connections: Fred Trump Jr. placed a call to James Nolan, a Wharton admissions official and friend of the family, to request help getting his younger brother admitted as a transfer — Nolan later confirmed the call [4] [5]. Profiles and investigations note Nolan interviewed Donald Trump and completed standard review steps, but Nolan and others characterize the family contact as influential in opening the door [6] [5].
3. Admissions context then versus now
Sources note the admissions environment in the mid-1960s was different from today: one former Wharton admissions staffer told reporters that acceptance rates for transfer applicants were higher then and that transfers had a stronger chance because they already carried college-level work — an important context for claims that Trump’s admittance was “easy” or purely merit-based [5]. Nolan himself asserted Trump’s file was reviewed by others in admissions and the vice dean before final approval, indicating formal processes still applied [6].
4. Disputes over Trump’s portrayal of his Wharton pedigree
Even as Trump emphasizes Wharton as proof of intellect, early profiles that once claimed he graduated at the top of his class have been disputed; later reporting and fact-checks make clear some of Trump’s claims about class rank and the difficulty of admission have been challenged by contemporaneous records and former staffers [2] [5]. Sources present two competing narratives: Trump’s self-promotional account of having “tested” himself at the top business school, and reporting that the transfer was substantially helped by family connections and a more permissive admissions climate [3] [4].
5. What the sources do and don’t say
Available reporting establishes the timeline — Fordham for two years, transfer in 1966, Wharton degree in 1968 — and documents both Trump’s stated rationale and contemporaneous accounts of outside help [1] [2] [4]. Sources do not provide Trump’s full transcripts in the public record here, nor do they settle precisely how decisive Nolan’s intervention was versus normal admissions evaluation; Nolan and later Wharton officials say multiple reviewers approved the application [6] [5]. If you are looking for internal Wharton admissions files or Trump’s academic transcripts, available sources do not mention those documents [6].
6. How to weigh competing explanations
The most straightforward reading of the assembled reporting is that both motives mattered: Trump sought the prestige and business focus of Wharton and also benefitted from family connections at a time when transfer admissions were comparatively accessible. Journalistic accounts repeatedly juxtapose Trump’s personal narrative (testing himself academically) with archival reporting about Fred Trump Jr.’s phone call and Nolan’s recollection that he rated and interviewed Donald Trump [3] [4] [6].
7. Bottom line for readers
Donald Trump transferred from Fordham to Wharton in the mid‑1960s for professional and reputational reasons he voiced himself, but contemporary reporting documents that a family friend’s intervention helped secure an interview and admission — reflecting both individual ambition and the leverage of social ties in college access at that time [3] [4] [5]. Further specifics about internal admissions deliberations or Trump’s full academic record are not detailed in the sources assembled here [6].