College Records of the 2008 Presidential Candidates

So how did Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin fare in college? What were their GPAs? What courses did they take and excel in, and what gave them problems?

I investigated this question today, and sadly, it was difficult to find solid answers. After all, GPAs and other information about college performance is confidential information. When I was a professor, I couldn’t even tell parents how their kids were doing in classes, much to their frustration. That’s the law.

Nonetheless, when an individual applies to grad school, or when they apply to a competitive job where intelligence matters quite a bit, they are asked to submit their GPA and their college transcripts. And that’s why it irks me that information about the candidates’ college records are not readily available. After all, the American people are about to hire two of these candidates to crucially important positions. Shouldn’t we have this information about their accomplishments — or lack thereof– in higher education? No, GPA isn’t a direct indicator of intelligence and future success, but it certainly is one indicator.

At any rate, here’s the information that’s out there about the college records of Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin.