For most of us, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that many of our nation’s 44 presidents received top-notch college educations. After all, it’s no easy task to achieve the highest office in the United States!
In fact, compared to this list of surprising trivia about our presidents, perhaps it’s not all together unexpected that our past four presidents earned one or more degrees at schools that are part of the Ivy League — the eight most competitive institutions for higher learning in America.
But, exclusive though these universities are, you may be surprised — and feel a bit nostalgic — when you see the admissions criteria in place when one of our most famous presidents was headed to school.
John F. Kennedy, who held the office of president from 1961 to 1963, submitted an application to Harvard University in May of 1935 — but the admissions process looked just a little different from how it look for hopeful young men and women applying to Harvard today…
Scroll down to see just how much has changed over time — and to learn about one of our most beloved presidents!
Young John Fitzgerald Kennedy — known to his family as Jack — was a true Harvard legacy.
The second-oldest of nine siblings, young Jack (top-left) was preceded at Harvard by his father, grandfather, and older brother.
Following in older brother Joe Jr.'s footsteps, JFK grew up attending all of the right private schools, from Dexter Academy, where he played on the football team, to the Choate School, where he completed high school.
Growing up, the family always expected Joe Jr. to attend Harvard, followed by law school, a career in politics, and, eventually, the presidency.
But when Joe Jr. died unexpectedly during WWII, those expectations were passed on to JFK.
In May of 1935, after completing high school, JFK submitted an application to Harvard, requesting deferred application until Fall 1936 so he could spend a year studying at the London School of Economics. The personal statement he submitted with his application reads:
The reasons that I have for wishing to go to Harvard are several. I feel that Harvard can give me a better background and a better liberal education than any other university. I have always wanted to go there, as I have felt that it is not just another college, but is a university with something definite to offer. Then too, I would like to go to the same college as my father. To be a “Harvard man” is an enviable distinction, and one that I sincerely hope I shall attain.
Those five sentences, in addition to recommendations and academic transcripts, handily clinched JFK's place in the 1936 class.
After returning from London early and taking six weeks of classes at Princeton, JFK returned to Cambridge and began to pursue his studies diligently.
He graduated from Harvard cum laude in 194o with a degree in International Affairs. His senior thesis was considered groundbreaking, and was published the same year that he graduated.
From there, JFK went on to business school, an illustrious career in politics, and eventually, the highest office in America.
Though JFK would tragically succumb to an assassination before the end of his first term, for the three years of his presidency, JFK guided our country safely through some of the most precarious moments of the Cold War.
That five-sentence essay, while unlikely to guarantee admissions today, was perhaps the first domino in the chain of events that made him our 35th president.
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