The 25 Best Schools for Future Powerbrokers

To determine which schools are best for future powerbrokers, we took a broad look at the institutions that are producing today’s political and business leaders by considering the number of students—of both undergrad and graduate programs—who have gone on to become president or, since 1980, U.S. senators. If a politician got both undergrad and graduate degrees from the same school, it was counted once. We also looked at the number of CEOs of Fortune 100 companies or on the Forbes list of billionaires and the percentage of undergraduates going on to the nation’s top professional schools. After Harvard and Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, which includes the topnotch Wharton School, has graduated the most billionaires.

About the Rankings:
Researchers Peter Bernstein and Courtney Kennedy drew dozens of sources to compile these rankings including information from the National Center for Education Statistics, The Washington Monthly, and College Prowler. A portion of the data they used is at the end of this slideshow, but for the full methodologies, see our FAQ here.  Ranking Methodology. And if you’re not a rankings fan, take a look at this piece by Colin Diver, the president of Reed College, about why schools dislike rankings and how students can use them wisely as part of their college decision-making process.