Political U. - Colleges and Universities that Improve your Chances of Becoming a Congressman

Higher education opens doors to many career paths. But which schools best prepare aspiring politicians for a job at the highest levels of elected office?

If you want a job in Congress, you are well-advised to go to college. 95% of all Representatives and all 100 Senators hold at least a Bachelors Degree. Compare this to the American public at large-24% have graduated from college. Only five Members of Congress never attended a single college class-- C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), John Salazar (R-CO), Philip Hare (D-IL), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and Bob Brady (D-PA). Thirteen other House members attended college but did not receive a bachelor's degree.

In order to get elected, the best path to take is to attend a major public university in the state you plan to run in. Fifty-one percent of the House and 61% of the Senate hold at least one degree from a state university. This makes sense, as it is easier to be elected to a local or state office early in life if one can demonstrate a commitment to the state they represent. Further, the budding politician is able to develop a network of contacts that will become influential and wealthy donors down the road.

An Ivy League education is not as valuable as one might expect. Only 12% of lawmakers hold a degree from an Ivy League School, and more than half of those were advanced degrees. Apparently voters consider it more important for Senators to attend a prestigious school: 21% of the Senate attended an Ivy versus 10% of the House. Most degrees were from Harvard and Yale. Columbia University was the only other Ivy to place in the top 50, with seven graduates. Traditional liberal arts colleges did not fare well, as no school produced more than two Members of Congress.

The Senate is better educated than the House, with two-thirds holding advanced degrees. The Senate has fifty six attorneys, by far the most popular pre-politics profession. In fact, most of the Ivy League degrees awarded were actually Juris Doctorates. Seven Senators have MBAs, two have MDs, and two have Veterinary Doctorates.

So which schools can claim the most Members of Congress as alumni? The top honor goes to Harvard University, which produced 31 lawmakers, or 5.8% of the total membership. Second place goes to Georgetown University, which graduated 19 Members of Congress (3.6%). Yale University, another Ivy League institution, is third with thirteen (2.4%). Stanford University and the University of Virginia are tied for 4^th with twelve members apiece. Rounding out the top eight are George Washington University (11), the University of California-Los Angeles (10), and Ohio State University (9). The next eight places are all held by public universities, each with 8 alumni in Congress.