You'll be surprised by where the most powerful Fortune 500 CEOs went to college

Ivy League universities are typically seen as a fast-track to the top, but many business executives followed a different path.

Here are the alma maters of the CEOs of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies.

As you can see, there's only one Ivy League undergrad degree represented here.

1. Doug McMillon (Wal-Mart Stores) - University of Arkansas (BS), University of Tulsa (MBA)
2. Rex Tillerson (Exxon Mobil) - University of Texas at Austin (BS)
3. John S. Watsonn (Chevron) - University of California, Davis (BA), University of Chicago (MBA)
4. Warren E. Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) - University of Nebraska (BS), Columbia University (MS)
5. Tim Cook (Apple) - Auburn University (BS), Duke University (MBA)
6. Greg C. Garland (Phillips 66) - Texas A&M University (BS)
7. Mary Barra (General Motors) - General Motors Institute/Kettering University (BS), Stanford University (MBA)
8. Mark Fields (Ford Motor) - Rutgers University (BA), Harvard University (MBA)
9. Jeff Immelt (General Electric) - Dartmouth College (BA), Harvard University (MBA)
10. Joe Gorder (Valero Energy) - University of Missouri-St. Louis (BA), Our Lady of the Lake University (MBA)

Of course, this is still an accomplished group. All the CEOs have at least a bachelor's degree, and several have master's degrees, mostly MBAs. Three have grad degrees from Ivy League schools.

In a new book - "Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be" - New York Times columnist Frank Bruni points out that only 30% of American-born CEOs of the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500 attended an elite college.

"Education happens across a spectrum of settings and in infinite ways, and college has no monopoly on the ingredients for professional achievement or a life well lived," Bruni recently wrote.

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