At our library in Saginaw they have a book that lists Cherokee by blood. 1/16, 1/4, 1/8 whatever in 1890. The gov'nment kept track of the Native Americans in this fashion by giving them a dole. Lots of them just blended in with the white population and are not on this list, for instance my husband's Choctaw grandmother. By 1900 she lists white. You have to have pretty good documentation for that college bit. Good luck.