41 Percent: It's Bad That 12 Colleges Represent Half of US Political Elite

December 20, 2023: Forty-one percent (41%) of voters believe it is either somewhat bad (27%) or very bad (14%) for the country that half of America's political elite have received a degree from one of just 12 universities. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 24% of voters believe that it is somewhat good (16%) or very good (8%) for America.

The survey also found that 44% of voters believe it is either somewhat bad (28%) or very bad (16%) that all but one Supreme Court justice over the last 40 years have attended either Harvard or Yale.

Methodology

The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on December 11-12, 2023. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation's population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.

Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left nearly a decade ago and has had no involvement since that time.

Survey Questions

Half of America's political elite received a degree from one of just 12 universities, generally Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale. Is it good for America or bad for America to have so many elite leaders come from such a small number of schools?

• 8%-Very good
• 16%-Somewhat good
• 27%-Somewhat bad
• 14%-Very bad
• 23%-Neither good nor bad
• 12%-Not sure

All but one Supreme Court justice in the last 40 years attended either Harvard or Yale. Is it good for America or bad for America to have so many Supreme Court justices come from just two schools?

• 7%-Very good
• 13%-Somewhat good
• 28%-Somewhat bad
• 16%-Very bad
• 25%-Neither good nor bad
• 11%-Not sure

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and columnist for Creators Syndicate. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.