Top Five Colleges to Attend If You Want to be in the President’s Cabinet

January 21st, 2009

The historic inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama, took place yesterday. As President Obama readies himself for the next four years and begins his first official day on the job, he needs to be sure he has the right staff to back him up. Looking back at the previous Presidential Cabinets, you might see some sort of pattern as to where they went to college. Are you an aspiring Presidential Cabinet member? Check out which schools might be of interest for the next four years of YOUR life and beyond. Here, you’ll find five as outlined by Dr. Katherine Cohen, CEO and founder of IvyWise:

1. University of California, Berkeley
Cal’s alumni have presided over several cabinet positions (most recently, a Ph.D. graduate Steven Chu for the department of energy) as Cal’s graduate programs in the Sciences, Law and Business consistently produce leaders whose experience is meaningful in D.C.

2. Yale and Georgetown (Tie)
Yale’s Law School still produces high-quality politicians and advisors, and, while Georgetown’s number is actually lower than Yale’s (Rumsfeld didn’t actually graduate G’town Law School), their top-notch Foreign Services, Business and Law Programs are specifically tailored for the future politico

3. Indiana University
The big surprise of the group, Indiana boasts four alumni in cabinet positions since 2001. A closer look at their highly ranked Business (Number 15 overall; Number two for Entrepreneurship) and Management Program reveals that IU’s innovative curriculum based on applicable, “real-world” knowledge builds connections that lead to political leadership.

4. University of Denver
This should not be a surprise for those in the know in the Business and Political World. While Condoleezza Rice is still its most famous alum, Denver has three other cabinet members and a world-class International Studies program, ranked ahead of giants such as University of Chicago, Yale, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, and MIT.

5. Harvard
Harvard has more alumni in cabinet positions than Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT COMBINED. Whether it was the Law School, Business School, or Harvard college, the Harvard reputation still carries much clout in the beltway.

-Amanda Fornecker

Entry Filed under: Careers, College Admissions