 Ferraro stayed on at Mount Saint Mary 's as a boarder for a while , then briefly attended a parochial school in the South Bronx . Beginning in 1947 , she attended and lived at the parochial Marymount Academy in Tarrytown , New York , using income from a family rental property in Italy and skipping seventh grade . At Marymount Ferraro was a member of the honor society , active in several clubs and sports , voted most likely to succeed , and graduated in 1952 . Her mother was adamant that she get a full education , despite an uncle in the family saying , " Why bother ? She 's pretty . She 's a girl . She 'll get married . " Ferraro attended Marymount Manhattan College with a scholarship while sometimes holding two or three jobs at the same time . During her senior year she began dating John Zaccaro of Forest Hills , Queens , who had graduated from Iona College with a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps . Ferraro received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1956 ; she was the first woman in her family to gain a college degree . She also passed the city exam to become a licensed school teacher . 
