What were Donald Trump's SAT scores for Wharton admission?
Executive summary
No publicly verified SAT score for Donald Trump is available in the provided reporting; multiple sources say his SAT scores and some academic records were never publicly released and that Michael Cohen claimed Trump directed threats to keep them private [1]. Niece Mary Trump alleges he paid someone to take the SAT, a claim reported by several outlets but based on her book and not on school or College Board records [2] [3].
1. No confirmed numeric SAT score on record
Reporting summarized here finds no contemporaneous, verifiable SAT numbers for Trump. Newsweek notes there are “no public details of his grades or SAT scores,” and Cohen supplied documents claiming letters threatened schools and the College Board to prevent disclosure [1]. Available sources do not publish an actual SAT score for Trump [1].
2. Allegations of a proxy test-taker: source and limits
The principal allegation that Trump paid someone to take the SAT for him comes from Mary Trump’s memoir and is reported by outlets including Poets&Quants and NDTV; those accounts say a proxy produced a high score that helped him gain admission to Wharton [2] [3]. These reports trace back to Mary Trump’s book manuscript and interviews; they are not corroborated in the provided material by independent records from the College Board or University of Pennsylvania [2] [3]. That gap matters: an allegation from a memoir is not the same as archival test-score evidence.
3. Context: why SATs and grades matter to the story
Multiple pieces note Donald Trump has long resisted releasing school records. Michael Cohen testified that, acting at Trump’s direction, he sent letters to schools and the College Board threatening legal action if grades or SAT scores were disclosed [4] [1]. Forbes and Newsweek both frame the secrecy as unusual for a public figure who touts academic pedigree; Forbes also notes Trump graduated Wharton “without honors,” indicating some publicly known academic outcomes but not standardized-test scores [5] [1].
4. Admissions environment in the 1960s and other influences
Reporting cited by Poets&Quants indicates that family connections may also have played a role: a former Penn admissions official acknowledged a 1966 phone call from a family associate that could have helped Trump’s case [2]. That account suggests multiple pathways to admission—test scores, personal recommendations, and family influence—so even if a high test result existed, it wouldn’t be the sole possible explanation for admission to Wharton [2]. The sources, however, do not provide definitive evidence tying any specific factor to the final admission decision [2].
5. Competing narratives and what each implies
Mary Trump’s narrative portrays cheating as “a way of life” and identifies an allegedly high proxy SAT score as a key factor in admission [2] [3]. Trump’s defenders have characterized the memoir as false or partisan; the White House at the time called the book “falsehoods,” though that counterclaim in the sources is a general denouncement rather than a documentation of test results [3]. Michael Cohen’s testimony about efforts to suppress scores suggests the Trump camp has actively sought to keep scores private, which supporters could interpret as protecting personal privacy while critics interpret it as concealing something damaging [1].
6. What reporting does not establish
None of the provided sources produce a certified College Board transcript, a Wharton admissions file showing SAT numbers, or an independent corroboration of the proxy-taker’s identity or score. The sources do not confirm any specific numeric SAT score for Donald Trump; they only report allegations and claims about attempts to prevent disclosure [2] [1]. Available sources do not mention a verified score or an official College Board confirmation.
7. Bottom line for readers
Based on the documents and reporting in these sources, you should treat numeric SAT claims about Trump as unverified: allegations exist (memoir claims of a paid proxy and Cohen’s claims about suppression), but no source here publishes an authenticated SAT score or college-record proof [2] [1]. If you need a definitive number, current reporting in this packet does not provide one and does not cite an official records release [1].