You see him every Saturday night behind the Weekend Update desk, usually smirking while Michael Che sets him up for a joke that makes him look like a privileged villain. It’s part of the bit. But for years, people have wondered if that "Ivy League prep" vibe he gives off is actually rooted in reality or just a really committed comedy persona. Did Colin Jost go to Harvard, or is he just exceptionally good at playing the part of a guy who did?
The short answer is yes. He definitely did.
But it wasn't just a four-year stint to get a degree and leave. His time in Cambridge essentially built the foundation for everything he’s doing now. It’s where he found his "tribe," if you want to call it that, and where he learned how to write the kind of comedy that eventually landed him a job at 30 Rockefeller Plaza when he was only 22 years old.
The Staten Island to Cambridge Pipeline
Colin Jost didn’t just wake up at Harvard. He grew up in Staten Island, which is a far cry from the ivory towers of Massachusetts. His mom was the chief medical officer for the FDNY and his dad was a teacher at Staten Island Technical High School. He was a smart kid—clearly. He attended Regis High School in Manhattan, a Jesuit school known for being incredibly selective and academically rigorous.
When he finally landed at Harvard University, he wasn't just there to study History and Literature, which was his actual major. He was there for the Harvard Lampoon.
If you aren't familiar with the Lampoon, it’s basically the "Saturday Night Live" farm system. It’s a semi-secretive, definitely weird, and highly influential humor magazine. It’s the same place that produced Conan O’Brien, Greg Daniels, and Michael Schur. For a comedy nerd, getting into the Lampoon is harder—and arguably more important—than getting into the university itself.
Jost didn't just join; he became the president.
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Why the Lampoon Presidency Actually Matters
It’s easy to dismiss college clubs, but the Lampoon is different. As president, Jost was essentially running a small business and a creative writers' room simultaneously. He was responsible for the magazine’s "castle" (yes, they have a literal castle in Cambridge) and overseeing the chaotic, often surrealist humor that the publication is known for.
He was at Harvard from 2000 to 2004. During that time, he was honing a specific style of writing that is intellectual but often absurd. If you look at his memoir, A Very Punchable Face, he talks about this era with a mix of nostalgia and self-deprecation. He knows how it looks. He knows the "Harvard guy" trope.
The Mystery of the Graduation Year
There is often some confusion online about exactly when he graduated. He was the Class of 2004. He moved almost immediately from the graduation stage to the writers' room at SNL. That is an insane trajectory. Most people spend a decade doing open mics in dingy basements or writing spec scripts that never get read. Jost had the Harvard-to-SNL pipeline working in his favor, but he also had the portfolio to back it up.
He won a Peabody Award and multiple Emmys later, but it all started with those late nights in the Lampoon castle.
What He Actually Studied (It Wasn't Comedy)
While he spent most of his time writing jokes, Jost was technically a student of History and Literature, focusing specifically on Russian and British literature. You can actually see bits of that education peek through in his writing. There’s a structured, almost academic precision to his punchlines.
He wrote his senior thesis on... wait for it... the development of the "New Journalism" style.
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He wasn't just coasting. He was an honors student. He also competed on the Harvard swim team during his freshman year. Imagine being a varsity athlete, the president of the most prestigious humor mag in the country, and an honors student in a difficult major. It’s the kind of overachievement that makes the Michael Che "privileged white guy" jokes land so much harder because they’re based on a very high-achieving reality.
Breaking Down the Harvard "Vibe" on Weekend Update
When people ask "did Colin Jost go to Harvard," they’re usually asking because he looks like he did. He has that polished, slightly untouchable look that screams New England prep, even though he's a New York kid.
SNL leans into this constantly.
- The Suits: His wardrobe is notoriously sharp.
- The Smirk: He has a way of reacting to jokes that suggests he’s "in on it" but also slightly embarrassed.
- The Dynamic: Placing him next to Michael Che, who plays a more "street-smart" and cynical character, creates a comedic friction that wouldn't work if Jost didn't actually have that Ivy League background.
Honestly, the show wouldn't be as funny if he hadn't gone there. The "Weekend Update" desk has a long history of Harvard alums. Norm Macdonald wasn't one, but Tina Fey and Seth Meyers brought a certain "smart-writer" energy that Jost took to the next level by being the literal embodiment of the institution.
The Scarlett Johansson Connection
It’s a fun piece of trivia, but Jost actually first met his now-wife, Scarlett Johansson, on the set of SNL back in 2006. While he was just a young writer fresh out of Harvard, she was hosting. She has mentioned in interviews that she remembers him as being very "punky" back then, which is hard to imagine now. But that confidence—the kind you get from running a prestigious organization at 21—is likely what helped him navigate those early years in a high-pressure environment.
Dealing with the Backlock
There’s always a bit of a "hater" culture surrounding Harvard grads in comedy. Some people feel it’s an unfair advantage. And look, it is an advantage. The networking alone is worth the tuition. But Jost has been vocal about the fact that once you’re in the writers' room at SNL, nobody cares where you went to school. If your sketches don’t get laughs, you’re gone.
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He stayed. He became a head writer. He became the longest-running anchor in the history of Weekend Update. You don't do that just because you have a degree from Cambridge. You do that because you’re a workaholic.
Key Facts About Colin Jost's Harvard Years
- Years Attended: 2000–2004.
- Major: History and Literature.
- Major Achievement: President of the Harvard Lampoon.
- Athletics: Freshman year swim team.
- Thesis Topic: New Journalism (think Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson).
- Post-Graduation: Hired by SNL at age 22.
The Verdict on the Harvard Pedigree
So, did Colin Jost go to Harvard? Absolutely. He is perhaps the most "Harvard" person on television today, not because he brags about it, but because the institution’s fingerprints are all over his career. From the way he structures a joke to the way he handles live television, that Ivy League polish is always there.
Whether you love his style or think he’s the "straight man" who gets too much credit, you can't deny the work ethic. He took the golden ticket he got from the Lampoon and turned it into a two-decade career at the top of the comedy world.
Next Steps for the Curious
If you're interested in how the "Harvard to SNL" pipeline actually works, you should check out the following:
- Read A Very Punchable Face: Jost’s memoir goes into detail about his time at Harvard, including the specific pranks the Lampoon pulled.
- Look up the Harvard Lampoon Alumni list: You'll be shocked at how many of your favorite shows (The Simpsons, The Office, Parks and Rec) were written by people who sat in that same "castle" as Jost.
- Watch early Jost sketches: Search for SNL sketches from 2005-2008. Try to spot the "Lampoon-style" humor—it's usually the weirder, more conceptual stuff that doesn't always rely on a traditional punchline.
Understanding Jost’s background makes his on-screen persona much more interesting. He’s not just playing a character; he’s playing a hyper-exaggerated version of the guy he actually was in his early twenties. And in the world of comedy, that kind of self-awareness is exactly why he's still on the air.