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- Some US colleges have numerous alums who went on to prolific political careers in the Senate.
- Many of the colleges listed are Ivy League or have extremely low acceptance rates.
- Harvard University tops the list, with 13 current senators among its alums.
US senators come from all sorts of different educational backgrounds.
Some graduated from the US Naval Academy or smaller private schools, but 42 of the 100 US senators came from 10 prominent universities, according to biographies on the US Senate website.
Harvard University, the oldest college in the country and one of the hardest to get into, boasts the largest number of current senators among its alums.
The senators on this list are alums of the schools' undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, law, or medical programs, and some have graduated from multiple of the listed universities. Honorary degrees and schools a senator attended without graduating were excluded.
Here's a look at which US colleges have produced the most current senators.
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Senators: Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), and John Curtis (R-UT).
Sen. Crapo graduated from BYU in Utah with a bachelor's degree in political science, as did Sen. Lee.
Sen. Curtis earned a bachelor's degree in business management.
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Senators: Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rand Paul (R-KY).
Sen. Alsobrooks studied public policy, Sen. Moore Capito studied zoology, and Sen. Paul received a medical degree.
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Senators: Ted Cruz (R-TX), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
Princeton is an Ivy League university.
Sen. Cruz earned a bachelor's degree in public policy, Sen. McCormick earned a Ph.D. in international relations, and Sen. Merkley earned a master's degree in public affairs.
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Senators: Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy League school by undergraduate enrollment.
Sen. King earned a bachelor's degree in government, Sen. Hoeven earned a bachelor's degree in economics, and Sen. Smith earned an MBA from the university's Tuck School of Business.
Sen. Gillibrand graduated with a bachelor's degree in Asian studies.
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Senators: Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Todd Young (R-IN).
The University of Chicago's five Senate alums span the political spectrum, from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders to Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.
Both Sen. Sanders and Sen. Kim earned a bachelor's degree in political science.
Sen. Ricketts graduated with both a bachelor's degree in biology and an MBA. Sen. Young also earned an MBA, while Sen. Klobuchar earned a law degree.
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Senators: Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Kennedy (R-LA), Angus King (I-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia has a graduate-heavy Senate alum base: Sen. Cornyn, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. King, and Sen. Whitehouse earned law degrees there.
Sen. Moore Capito earned a master's degree in education.
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Senators: Cory Booker (D-NJ), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Sen. Booker, Sen. Schiff, and Sen. Smith all earned bachelor's degrees in political science. Sen. Booker also earned a master's in sociology.
Sen. Hawley earned a bachelor's in history, and Sen. Merkley earned a bachelor's in international relations.
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Senators: John Barrasso (R-WY), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Georgetown University's appeal is partly due to its location in the nation's capital.
Four of its seven Senate alums earned law degrees: Sen. Durbin, Sen. Hirono, Sen. Sullivan, and Sen. Van Hollen.
Sen. Barrasso, meanwhile, earned a medical degree from Georgetown's School of Medicine.
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Senators: Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Five of Yale's seven Senate alums earned law degrees from the university: Sen. Bennet, Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Booker, Sen. Coons, and Sen. Hawley. Sen. Coons also earned a master's degree in religion.
Sen. Klobuchar earned a bachelor's degree in political science, while Sen. Whitehouse earned a bachelor's degree in architecture.
The Ivy League school is in the top 5 most selective schools in the US, with an acceptance rate of 4%.
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Senators: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA).
Eight of Harvard's 13 Senate alums earned Juris Doctor degrees from the Ivy League school: Sen. Cotton, Sen. Cruz, Sen. Kaine, Sen. Crapo, Sen. Reed, Sen. Schiff, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. Warner.
Sen. Blumenthal earned a bachelor's degree in government. Sen. Fetterman and Sen. Van Hollen each earned a Master of Public Policy degree.
Sen. Gallego earned a bachelor's degree in international relations, and Sen. Sullivan earned a bachelor's degree in economics.