Did Donald Trump transfer colleges and what were the years of attendance at Fordham University and University of Pennsylvania?

1. The basic timeline: Fordham then Wharton

Every profile and university-focused account in the search results frames Trump’s undergraduate path the same way: he enrolled at Fordham University starting in 1964, spent roughly two years there (freshman and sophomore years, 1964–66), then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1966 and completed his degree in 1968 ^{[1] [2] [3]}. That sequence — Fordham 1964–1966, Wharton graduation 1968 — is the core factual narrative repeated across sources ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Evidence and documentary forms cited by reporters

Biographical summaries such as Wikipedia synthesize historical records to state the dates plainly: Fordham 1964–1966 and Wharton degree in 1968 ^[1]. University publications and alumni outlets at Fordham also describe Trump as a two‑year student at Rose Hill who subsequently transferred to Penn ^{[5] [6]}. Fact‑checking and local Philadelphia coverage note the commencement date — May 20, 1968 — as the public marker of his Wharton graduation ^[4].

3. Areas of dispute and investigative follow‑ups

Although the attendance chronology is widely reported, some journalists and Penn faculty have examined how Trump was admitted to Wharton. Reporting in The Philadelphia Inquirer and other outlets recounts requests for investigations and mentions taped remarks by a family member that raise questions about test‑taking and admissions practices in 1966; those stories do not refute the transfer or degrees but seek to probe the admission process itself ^[3]. Philly Magazine’s fact‑check also covers commencement details and reporting inconsistencies about his claims of class rank ^[4].

4. What the sources do not settle

Available sources do not mention internal Penn or Fordham original transcripts publicly released to confirm grades, nor do they provide contemporaneous admission files in the materials cited here; in fact, reporting notes that Trump has not released his academic records and his team at times discouraged universities from disclosing them ^{[7] [3]}. The reporting documents questions about how he gained admission but does not supply definitive, publicly available admission files in the items provided ^{[3] [7]}.

5. How contemporaries remember — limited imprint at Fordham and Penn

Several Fordham pieces and alumni recollections emphasize that Trump left relatively few memories among classmates during his time at Fordham and later at Penn; anecdotes present him as a commuter at Fordham and someone not widely remembered by Penn classmates ^{[5] [6] [8]}. Those personal-memory pieces corroborate attendance without altering the calendar dates ^{[6] [5]}.

6. Competing framings and possible agendas in coverage

Different outlets emphasize different threads: alumni pages and Fordham coverage focus on the local campus context and the fact of his two years there ^{[5] [6]}; Philadelphia outlets and faculty critics foreground procedural questions about how transfers were handled and whether any favoritism occurred ^{[3] [4]}. National outlets and biographies stress the neat narrative of a transfer to Wharton followed by a 1968 degree, which supports Trump’s long‑used claim of Wharton credentials even as critics scrutinize details ^{[1] [2] [9]}.

7. Bottom line for your question

The reporting assembled here consistently answers the core question: Donald Trump transferred from Fordham to the University of Pennsylvania in 1966 after attending Fordham from about 1964 to 1966, and he graduated from Wharton in 1968 ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Questions remain in some reporting about the precise circumstances of his Penn admission and the lack of publicly released academic records, but those inquiries do not contradict the attendance and graduation timeline as stated in these sources ^{[3] [7]}.