The Reasons Barron Trump's Choice To Attend NYU Is So Surprising

After months of speculation, Barron Trump's choice of college finally became clear – and it's a surprising choice. In early September 2024, Donald Trump revealed that his youngest kid was set to attend New York University's Stern School of Business in the fall. "He's a very high aptitude child, but he's no longer a child. He's just passed into something beyond child-dom. He's doing great," the Republican presidential nominee told the Daily Mail, highlighting the school's ranking and acceptance rate. "It's a very high quality place. He liked it. He liked the school," he said.

There is no denying that NYU is a prestigious school, as reflected by the fact that Barron will attend college with several celebrity kids. But his choice is surprising for a few reasons. First off, the Trump family has a predictable history of college choices, which Barron has chosen to ignore. However, his choice also raises a few questions regarding his household structure. Will Melania Trump let Barron return to his hometown alone? Donald is unlikely to want to make Trump Tower his primary home again. 

Donald is no longer a fan of his old stomping grounds. "New York has gone to hell. Vote Trump!" he tweeted in 2020. Since becoming a politician, the former president has distanced himself from the city, where Democratic presidential candidates have won since 1988. "Everyone wanted to be here," he said at a Bronx rally in May 2024. "But sadly this is now a city in decline." That said, Barron's college choice came as a surprise, as it had become a Trump family tradition to attend the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

Barron Trump proved he isn't afraid to carve his own path. Donald Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, an accomplishment he is mighty proud of. "I went to an Ivy League school. I'm very highly educated. I know words, I have the best words," he told a Florida crowd in 2016. Most of his children followed in his footsteps, creating an association between Wharton and the Trumps.

Donald Trump Jr. graduated from Wharton in 2000 and Ivanka Trump in 2004. While Tiffany Trump didn't study at the business school, she went to UPenn like her oldest siblings and father, graduating in 2016. The only other school the Trump children have attended is Georgetown University, from which Eric Trump graduated in 2006 and where Tiffany went to law school. Ivanka also attended Georgetown for two years before transferring to her father's alma mater. Barron is the first to choose NYU.

But beyond family tradition, Barron's choice may also have an impact on his family's living arrangements. Since leaving the White House, Donald and Melania Trump swapped New York City for Palm Beach, Florida. Several sources believe Melania might choose to return to her old city to be near Barron. In late August, she referred to New York City as "home" on X, previously known as Twitter. This means she might not move back full-time to Washington, D.C., if Donald wins the 2024 presidential elections. We'll just have to wait and see.

Setting aside the impact of his college of choice, Barron Trump's time at New York University will likely be unlike that of his peers. Leaked snaps of Barron at college show his experience will be marked by heavy scrutiny and the steadfast presence of his Secret Service detail. While he isn't the first or last first child to attend college, the public's obsession with Barron's personal life might make things more challenging for him. As such, his protection will not be taken lightly.

But Secret Service agents have had their job made even harder by the internet. "The Secret Service has to monitor [social media]," former Secret Service agent Paul Eckloff, who worked for George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, explained to Independent. "Let's say that a president's child is at a party and someone tweets out their picture. Now, their location is broadcast on social media, and they could become a target. That can endanger everybody."

Pictures and videos of Barron's first days at NYU are already all over TikTok. When a Daily Mail reporter hit the campus to ask students their opinion about the school's newest addition, no one faltered at the mention of his name. And many even made predictions regarding his future at the school. "He's going to NYU, so if he's at all interested in girls, he's going to become kind of liberal, I'm going to tell you that," a young man said.