Alma Matters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harvard University

The Ivy League Harvard University, found in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the United States' best known educational institutions, particularly in the fields of law and economics. It may come a surprise that it was also the first alma mater for Ted Kaczynski, later known as the infamous Unabomber.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics before continuing studies at the University of Michigan across the 1960s. This was, of course, before his turn towards reclusion and, inevitably, his anarchic bombing spree across two decades in the United States.

He was apprehended in 1996 and was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences without parole.

Answer: Columbia University

New York City's own Ivy League destination, Columbia is one of the handful of universities to be founded before the American Revolution. It has since flourished as a top education destination, dividing into nearly two dozen different colleges of different disciplines.

It's Columbia that's responsible for handing out Pulitzer Prizes every year. Oscar Hammerstein II is one such winner of the Pulitzer-- he won two-- and was considered (along with partner Richard Rodgers) one of the great lyricists and musicians of musical theatre and film.

He joins numerous Pulitzer Prize-winners, American governors and vice-presidents, authors, actors, musicians, and academics in Columbia's extensive alumni listing.

Answer: Princeton University

The Ivy League Princeton University, found in New Jersey, is known for its wide range of disciplines and its prestige, having been one of the handful of institutions in the U.S. to hold not only U.S. Presidents (James Madison and Woodrow Wilson), but also dozens of Nobel Prize Winners and Rhodes Scholars. Famed mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., known for his contribution to game theory and economics, was one such Nobel winner; he received his Ph.D in Mathematics there, having rejected an offer from Harvard.

His life is famously chronicled in the Academy Award-winning film "A Beautiful Mind", where he was portrayed by Russell Crowe.

Answer: Cambridge University

Charles Darwin specifically attended study at Christ's College in Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1831 and his Master's five years later. Before this, he spent a short stint at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, but it seemed that it was not the right spot for him. See undergrads: it's okay not to know! Darwin would, of course, go on to join the Geological Society of London, traveling the world and developing research on natural selection, geological study, evolution, and general biology.

His efforts would be the groundwork for those in his fields for centuries to come. Darwin College, Cambridge, on the banks of the River Cam, would be founded in the 1960s.

Answer: University of Toronto

Found around Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, U of T is one of the most respected schools in the nation and, certainly, one of its oldest, found right in the heart of Downtown Toronto. It's unsurprising that, outside of Ottawa, the nation's capital, it's one of the largest producers of Canadian Prime Ministers. Malcolm Gladwell, known as a best-selling non-fiction author and a writer for the "Washington Post", grew up in Waterloo, Ontario before attending Trinity College at U of T, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History.

He is also known for his popular podcast, "Revisionist History".

Answer: Stanford University

Founded in the late nineteenth century in Central California, Stanford has been, historically, one of the toughest U.S. universities to gain admission to, so its alumni tend to be the cream of the crop in their fields. Notably, many of its students, at least in the twenty-first century, have gone on to high-paying jobs in computer science, engineering, economics, and politics. Oh yeah, and in athletics as well. Sports figures like gymnast Kerri Strug, double gold medal swimmer Maya DiRado, and five-time gold medal swimmer Katie Ledecky came from Stanford. Sports stars Tiger Woods and John McEnroe also attended, but both dropped out.

Answer: Yale University

Founded at the start of the eighteenth century, Yale has grown to become one of the U.S.' premier Ivy League destinations, originally starting out as a school of theology before the country had even been established. Yale Law has been the alma mater of Presidents Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford, one German President, two Heads of State of the Philippines, and the President of Malawi. Yale University proper has also taught William Howard Taft and George H. W. and George W. Bush. Surprisingly, it's also been the alma mater for several entertainment figures including actresses Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, and Sigourney Weaver. Broadway musician Cole Porter received his Bachelor of Arts at Yale in the 1910s before becoming one of the most famous New York songwriters of his generation.

Answer: University of Oxford

J. R. R. Tolkien would, of course, be best known for his fantasy works in and around the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, considered one of the all-time greats in the fantasy literary genre. His only alma mater ended up being the University of Oxford, specifically Exeter College, which also ended up being the school attended by author Philip Pullman. Oxford University is known for being one of the oldest universities in the world, predating the entirety of Aztec civilization. Founded before the twelfth century AD, it has since become one of the most prestigious homes of higher education in the world, being the alma mater of countless Nobel Prize winners.

Answer: University of California at Berkeley

Although there are many universities under the University of California umbrella, Berkeley is considered by many to be top tier. As the flagship institution under that banner, it grew to be a top school across multiple disciplines, but especially science.

A number of people who earned their Ph.D at Berkley have gone into jobs in aerospace, discovered elements of the Periodic Table, and pioneered research in the fields of medicine, environmental science, and astrophysics. Michio Kaku, known for his bestselling books about theoretical physics, is amongst the alumni of Berkeley.

He earned his Ph.D there in 1972 after attaining his undergraduate degree-- a Bachelor of Science-- at Harvard.

Answer: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Buzz Aldrin may have started his education with the United States Military Academy in the early 1950s, but his work at MIT ultimately led him to his out-of-this-world career path. He received his Doctor of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology specifically for his work in the field of astronautics and he was sent to the moon in 1969 on the Apollo 11 mission. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is perhaps best known, however, for its engineering. Ultimately, it found alumni in famous Chinese architect I. M. Pei, "Dr. Doolittle" author Hugh Lofting, Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.