They may end up in the same place, but Republican and Democratic congressional staffers often take different educational paths on their way to Washington.
The top undergraduate schools for Republican staffers are the University of Mississippi, the University of Alabama and Texas A&M University, according to a LegiStorm analysis. Democratic staffers are more likely to have attended college in the area, with the most popular bachelor degrees coming from George Washington University, American University and the University of Maryland at College Park.
Georgetown University Law Center is one of the most popular law schools for staffers of both parties. The Catholic University of America and George Washington round out Repubican staffers' top law-school picks; Democrats matriculate to American University and Harvard.
Staffers who pursue master's degrees tend to stay nearby, regardless of party. Georgetown and George Washington are the top picks for both Republican and Democratic staffers. Democrats also tend toward American University, while Republicans bring experience from the U.S. Naval War College, located in Rhode Island.
