Fact check: How do children of former presidents typically choose their colleges?

1. Summary of the results

Children of former presidents show diverse patterns in their college choices, though there are some common trends. Many attend prestigious institutions like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania ^[1]. While some follow family traditions by attending their parents' alma maters (like George W. Bush at Yale), others deliberately choose different paths (like Barron Trump attending NYU) ^[2]. The decisions are highly individual, influenced by personal interests, family legacy, and academic opportunities ^[1].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual factors are often overlooked:

• Privileged Access: Children of presidents, like other wealthy and connected families, often receive special admissions considerations at elite universities through "president's lists" and other preferential treatment mechanisms ^[3].
• Legacy Advantages: At institutions like Harvard, legacy students are accepted at five times the rate of non-legacy applicants and make up 14% of the undergraduate population ^[4].
• Public Scrutiny: These college choices are high-profile events that receive significant media attention, which may influence the decision-making process ^[2].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself oversimplifies what is actually a complex process influenced by various factors:

• Institutional Bias: The focus on traditional college paths overlooks how elite universities have multiple mechanisms for favoring children of wealthy and connected parents, including legacy admissions and athletic recruitment ^[4].
• Beneficiaries: Elite universities benefit from these arrangements through potential future donations and maintaining prestigious connections ^[3]. The media benefits from the high-profile nature of these decisions through increased coverage opportunities ^[2].
• Diversity of Choices: While there's often an assumption that presidential children all follow similar paths, the evidence shows significant diversity in their college choices, with some deliberately breaking family educational traditions ^[5].