When Barron Trump revealed he'd chosen New York University, breaking a Trump family tradition of attending the likes of Georgetown or the University of Pennsylvania, speculation quickly ignited online.
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Everyone was eager to know the reason behind Barron’s decision, especially since most of the Trump family attended the University of Pennsylvania or Georgetown. Considering this, the internet was filled with one question: did the young Trump truly have his pick of prestigious institutions, or was NYU's Stern School of Business a fallback after being turned away from Ivy League gates?
Since then, there have been rumours online that Barron was rejected by many elite schools, including Harvard, before settling for NYU. Let’s dive into the truth behind this rumour.
The internet claims Barron Trump was rejected by Harvard
The speculation began swirling in mid-2025, notably after Donald Trump froze billions in federal grants earmarked for several prominent schools like Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford. Social media was quick to do a deep analysis of the reason behind Trump’s actions.
A popular theory suggested that Trump's apparent hostility towards these institutions was personal, rooted in their alleged rejection of Barron Trump.
On platforms like Facebook and X, claims went viral. One Facebook user posted:
Guess what colleges didn't accept Barron Trump? Harvard. Stanford. Columbia.
Notable public figures joined the chorus, too, including Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who provocatively tweeted:
Can't help but wonder how many Trumps got rejected by Harvard
This further fuelled the rumours.
Even prominent journalist Megyn Kelly remarked on her podcast about Barron's potential difficulty finding a welcoming college campus. She stated:
How do you choose one because they all hate all Republicans, let alone one named Trump?
This statement subtly reinforced the narrative that elite schools might have deliberately turned away the former president’s son due to political bias.
Yet, despite the volume of online discussions, neither Barron nor his family publicly confirmed that he had applied to Harvard, Columbia, or Stanford. Donald Trump himself merely said his youngest son had ‘a lot of choices,’ without explicitly mentioning which institutions had made offers or sent rejections. Melania Trump also dismissed suggestions that Barron's decision was anything other than his own; she claimed that it was entirely Barron's choice to remain in New York.
Did Barron Trump really get rejected by Harvard?
With so many swirling accusations, the fact-checking site Snopes stepped in to investigate these popular claims about Barron’s supposed university rejections. They concluded that there simply wasn't sufficient verified evidence available to confirm or deny the widespread speculation about Harvard, Columbia, or Stanford rejecting Barron Trump.
Requests for clarification from the institutions themselves remained unanswered, leaving this controversy suspended in uncertainty. Importantly, Snopes highlighted that no credible online searches yielded evidence that Barron applied to or was rejected from these universities.
Moreover, a detailed search of Donald Trump’s Truth Social account showed no reference to Barron's university applications, admissions, or rejections, adding further uncertainty to the validity of these online allegations.
Additionally, Snopes pointed out that universities which previously welcomed Trump family members, such as the University of Pennsylvania, had also experienced funding cuts under Trump's administration. This undermines the argument that retaliation for rejection was the primary motive behind Trump’s contentious actions against elite schools.
Read more:
Barron Trump's life in the spotlight: All the facts you did not know about the President's son
Barron Trump cannot give his phone number out: 'A million people would be calling non-stop'
As Barron Trump turns 19, source describes the young man as an 'old soul'
Sources used:
MSN: Why People Suspect Barron Trump Got Rejected By Harvard
Snopes: Unpacking claim Barron Trump was rejected from Harvard, Columbia, Stanford
