Barron Trump Transferred to New York University’s D.C. Campus After Months Without Public Appearance: Source

Barron Trump is staying close to his parents for the next few months as he adjusts to college life.

The 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump started his first year at New York University’s Greenwich Village campus while commuting from Trump Tower in Manhattan.

However, when Barron wasn’t seen back on NYU’s main campus — where the Stern School of Business is located — after fall classes started in early September, PEOPLE learned that he is “doing a semester” in another city.

A source later confirmed to PEOPLE that Barron is now taking classes at NYU’s Washington, D.C., campus, which is just a few blocks from the White House.

While NYU has about 29,060 undergraduate students, the D.C. campus only has around 100 students. According to the school’s website, undergraduates in D.C. “engage deeply with politics, policy, business, journalism, and leadership through coursework and experiential learning in the nation’s capital.”

A semester at the D.C. campus costs approximately $32,811, with housing adding about $9,513.

It is not clear where Barron has been living since transferring campuses or if he plans to return to New York after the fall semester. However, NYU’s D.C. campus is less than a mile from the presidential residence, and Melania has previously said her son will always have a room waiting in the White House.

No reason for Barron’s move has been confirmed, and the first lady’s office declined to comment to PEOPLE.

In August, a source told PEOPLE that Melania keeps a close watch on her son. “Melania watches Barron constantly to make sure nobody messes with him or bullies him,” the source said. “She always knows where he is and what he’s doing.”

By December 2024, a source added that even with her focus on Barron, Melania balances her other duties. “Barron is in school all day, so she has plenty of time for her official work as well as being there for her son when he needs her,” the source explained.

Little is known about Barron’s first year of college, but a source recently told PEOPLE that he spent the summer “actively working on his own financial interests and has spent time with others who he is involved with in that area.”

The insider said Barron “has spent a great deal of time with his family” and isn’t focused on dating. “He has more school, a family who dotes on him, and a career of his own he is launching,” they said.