--- description: Americans can't decide if they want politicians to be elite and highly educated, or truly to be average citizens. title: Scott Walker Is a College Dropout, But So Are Many Americans image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9831b023e0182918/69877bd00b72e36df46dd569/scott-walker-iowa1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Scott Walker Is a College Dropout, But So Are Many Americans  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 13, 2015 7:52 PM CUT  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Jan. 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Jan. 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 13, 2015 7:52 PM CUT The hardest part about running for president is not seeming too above-average. Americans like to think that their commander-in-chief enjoys eating at greasy spoons in Iowa and watching bad television too. But candidates can also be punished for being too average. Take Scott Walker. The Republican governor of Wisconsin faced criticism this week for not having finished college, most notably by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (Yale, Class of ’71), who [argued he was “unknowledgeable”](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/02/12/howard%5Fdean%5Fbashes%5Fscott%5Fwalker%5Ffor%5Fnot%5Fhaving%5Fa%5Fcollege%5Fdegree%5Fcalls%5Fhim%5Funknowledgeable.html "undefined") on “Morning Joe.” But this line of criticism can be a hard one for Democrats to press, in no small part because there are a lot of Americans who are just like Walker in this regard. [According to the Census Bureau](http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/historical/index.html "undefined"), only 31.7 percent of adults in the U.S. over the age of 25 had finished college in 2013\. Walker, smartly, is trying to play these stats to his advantage, [telling the Milwaukee _Journal Sentinel_](http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/287810731.html "undefined"), “I’m like the majority of people in America.” He also cited personal reasons why he left Marquette University before graduation and didn’t return: “I’m someone who went to college, had the opportunity in my senior year to go and take a job full-time … and I took it, thinking someday, maybe, I’d go back. But a few years later, I met my wonderful wife, Tonette, a year after that, we had Matthew, the year after that, we had Alex.” ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters But while Walker may be in the majority, the rest of the 2016 field certainly is not. In fact, they’re way more educated than the typical American. Hillary Clinton got her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and a law degree from Yale. Bobby Jindal went to Brown University and then got a master’s degree from the University of Oxford. Ted Cruz went to Princeton and went on to get a law degree from Harvard. Carly Fiorina went to Stanford and has a MBA from the University of Maryland _and_ a master’s degree in science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The list goes on. In fact, the educational bona fides of the 2016 field are so extensive that Jeb Bush looks like an outlier for only having a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. That makes Walker even more of an outlier among the group of candidates. (Although Rand Paul [did not finish his undergraduate degree](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/02/13/rand-pauls-claim-twice-in-one-day-that-he-has-a-biology-degree/ "undefined"), he went on to get a medical degree from Duke.) But there’s nothing unusual about the possible presidential candidates when compared to other contemporary politicians. If Walker makes it to the Oval Office, he would be the first elected president without a college degree since Harry Truman. And before him, you’d have to go all the way back to 1897 to William McKinley. In the current Congress, 94% of House members and 100% of Senators [have at least a bachelor’s degree](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/r43869.pdf "undefined"). And most of them have even more education: 64% of House members and 74% of Senators have an advanced degree. These statistics point to the central tension over what we expect from our politicians. The fact that 30% of America has a college degree but all of our Senators do clearly demonstrates a bias towards education at the ballot box, or at least shows that higher education is tied somehow to other factors that help get a politician elected. But on the other hand, election cycles are full of candidates [eating the state’s famous corn dogs](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/best-worst-foods-campaign-trail/story?id=17482343#5 "undefined") and drinking beer with locals, all in the service of proving that they’re “just like you.” As Matt Dallek, a professor of political science at George Washington University’s graduate school, [explained to the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-the-loop-is-a-degree-a-prerequisite-for-the-presidency/2015/02/12/eb11e508-b2d1-11e4-827f-93f454140e2b%5Fstory.html "undefined"), “Voters want some sense that our leaders are particularly gifted, smart, accomplished, extraordinary but at the same time ordinary.” As it plays out, the debate over Walker’s education could answer the question: do voters really want a candidate from the same educational mold as most of the country? Or will the scrappy governor from Wisconsin be penalized for being too ordinary? ### U.S. Politics as Seen Through Mark Peterson's Satirical Eye  American flags surround a photo of Ronald Regan at the Young Americans for Liberty booth at CPAC on Mar. 8\. 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  A CPAC attendee shows her nails, a necklace and some love during CPAC in Mar. 8, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Secretary of State and Nobel Peace prize winner Dr. Henry Kissinger in his office at Kissinger Associates on Park Ave. With Fortune Editor Andy Serwer. Mark Peterson—Redux  Extreme close up of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Mark Peterson—Redux  Senator Hillary Clinton at the New York City Labor Day parade in 2006. Mark Peterson—Redux  From the series Politics in Black and White Mark Peterson—Redux  New York City Mayor Bill Deblasio talks to reporters on Veterans Day, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Texas Gov Rick Perry campaigns in NJ for Senate Candidate Lonegan. Mark Peterson—Redux  Over 40 conservative groups and organizations rallied in front of the White House to demand President Obama’s resignation and to “reclaim America.” Mark Peterson—Redux  From the series Politics in Black and White Mark Peterson—Redux  Buttons on display on the third and final day of CPAC on Mar. 9, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Million Vet protest at the WW2 memorial Mark Peterson—Redux  At a rally for Treyvon Martin in Union Square, NYC. Mark Peterson—Redux  At a rally for Treyvon Martin in Union Square, NYC. 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