Are there verified records of Donald Trump's academic performance and behavior in school?
Executive summary
There are verified public facts about where Donald Trump went to school and that he graduated from the Wharton School in 1968, but there are no publicly released, verifiable transcripts or SAT score reports that show his grades or standardized-test results; several news outlets and a former attorney have documented efforts to keep those records private [1] [2] [3]. Contemporary school lists and press reporting also show he did not graduate from Wharton with honors, which researchers use as indirect evidence about his academic standing [4] [5].
1. What is verifiably on the record: schools attended and degree conferred
Universities and public reporting confirm the basic timeline: Trump attended Kew-Forest School through seventh grade and then New York Military Academy in the 1950s–60s, later enrolling at Fordham University and transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1968 with an economics degree [1] [2]. Penn and public records routinely confirm only graduation dates, degree and major for alumni, and those elements are what is publicly verifiable about Trump’s higher-education credential [5].
2. What is not publicly verifiable: transcripts and standardized-test scores
No full, official college transcripts or SAT score reports for Trump have been publicly released; reporting and congressional testimony show that Michael Cohen, Trump’s then-attorney, sent letters in 2015 threatening legal action if Trump’s academic records or SAT scores were disclosed, and Cohen submitted those letters as evidence to Congress [3] [6]. News organizations note that federal student-privacy law (FERPA) already restricts schools from releasing student records without permission, but Cohen’s letters and other pressure contributed to those documents remaining sealed in public view [6] [7].
3. Indirect evidence and omissions: graduation honors and yearbook lists
Investigative work has used published commencement programs and Dean’s List rosters to conclude Trump did not graduate with academic honors and did not appear on the Dean’s List for his class, which is concrete but circumstantial evidence of his class standing relative to peers [4] [5]. Reporters and university records can confirm absence from honor lists and dean’s lists but cannot produce grades without the student’s consent or a legal release, so those omissions are treated as proof by absence rather than direct grade reports [5].
4. Behavioral reports from classmates, schools, and later biographies
Multiple accounts from classmates, school officials and later biographers describe Trump’s conduct as a teenager and college student—portraying him as a showy, attention-seeking cadet at NYMA and an assertive presence at Wharton—yet these are anecdotal and varied in tone and reliability, and they do not substitute for formal behavioral or disciplinary records [2] [4] [8]. Some reporting cites a B average at NYMA and contemporaneous characterizations of being “not interested in school,” but these claims rely on yearbook entries, recollections, and secondary sources rather than accessible sealed disciplinary files [2] [8].
5. Motive, secrecy, and competing narratives
Reporting highlights an apparent motive for secrecy—Trump publicly pressed others to release their academic records while his team actively suppressed his—which has fueled skepticism and shaped coverage [6] [3] [5]. Alternative viewpoints exist: institutions and privacy law limit disclosure regardless of intent, and some defenders argue the record of a degree is what matters; critics counter that the pattern of suppression and public boasts about academic prowess creates reason to demand transparency [5] [3].
6. Bottom line: verified facts versus unanswered questions
Verified public records establish schools attended and the Wharton degree, and contemporaneous commencement materials show no honors distinction—those are the concrete, citable facts [1] [2] [4]. What remains unverified and unavailable to independent scrutiny are Trump’s detailed transcripts, SAT scores and sealed disciplinary files; reporting documents active steps taken to keep those records private, but reporters cannot produce documents that remain withheld under privacy protections or by legal pressure [3] [7] [6].