Jindal was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to immigrants from India. Prior
to entering politics, Jindal studied for a Bachelor of Science in biology
and public policy at Brown University from 1988 to 1991 and then a Master of
Letters in political science from New College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.
He worked for McKinsey & Company and interned for Rep. Jim McCrery of
Louisiana. In 1996, Gov. Murphy Foster appointed Jindal secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and in 1999 he was appointed
president of the University of Louisiana System. In 2001, Jindal was
appointed as the principal adviser to Tommy Thompson, the United States
Secretary of Health and Human Services by Pres. George W. Bush.
Jindal was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Amar and Raj Jindal,
immigrants from Punjab, India, who came to the U.S. six months before he was
born.[5] Jindal attended Baton Rouge Magnet High School, graduating in 1988
at the top of his class. While in high school, he competed in tennis
tournaments, and started a computer newsletter, a retail candy business, and
a mail-order software company. He spent his free time working in the stands
at LSU football games.[6] Jindal was one of 50 students nationwide admitted
to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) at Brown University,
guaranteeing him a place in medical school. Jindal completed majors in
biology and public policy. He graduated in 1991 at the age of 20, with
honors in both majors.[6][7] Jindal was named to the 1992 USA Today All-USA
Academic Team. He applied to and was accepted by both Harvard Medical School
and Yale Law School, but studied at New College, Oxford, as a Rhodes
Scholar. He received an M.Litt. degree in political science with an emphasis
in health policy from the University of Oxford in 1994, where the subject
of his thesis was "A needs-based approach to health care".[6] He turned down
an offer to study for a D.Phil. in politics, instead joining the consulting
firm McKinsey & Company.[8] He then interned in the office of Rep. Jim
McCrery of Louisiana, where McCrery assigned him to work on healthcare
policy; Jindal spent two weeks studying Medicare to compile an extensive
report on possible solutions to Medicare's financial problems, which he
presented to McCrery.[9]
