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When President Trump applied to transfer from Fordham University to the more prestigious Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, he interviewed with an admissions officer who was a close friend of his older brother, Fred Trump Jr.
James Nolan, the admissions officer, told The Washington Post in an interview that, although the final decision on Trump's admittance rested with his supervisor, his review of Trump "must have been decent enough to support his candidacy." But Nolan disputed claims made by Trump that it was extremely difficult to be admitted to the university.
At the time, more than half of applicants were admitted, and acceptance rates were even higher for transfer students like Trump. The admissions rate to University of Pennsylvania today is 7.4 percent.
"It was not very difficult," Nolan told the Post. "I certainly was not struck by any sense that I'm sitting before a genius. Certainly not a super genius."
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from the newspaper.
A claim that Trump was the top student in his class at the Wharton School, partly abetted by the president himself, has persisted for decades. But Trump was not among the top students honored at commencement ceremonies, and his name also did not appear on the dean's list.
