Showing off their smarts! It’s no secret that tons of stars — like Disney Channel alum Joshua Rush and Miranda Cosgrove — went to college amid their fame. But while some opted for state schools, others decided to level up and attend an Ivy league university — Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University or Yale University.
Yara Shahidi started her college career at Harvard University in the fall of 2018. “I have the great fortune of working with fabulous people who want me to go to college as much as I do,” she told Vanity Fair during a February 2018 interview. Since making her college decision, the Grown-ish star has spoken briefly about her university studies.
“I’m excited to go into social studies. [Hollywood] has proved that it changes so often, so I’d rather spend the time on something [like social studies] that has personally been a passion of mine for so long,” Yara said during a January 2018 interview with Glamour. “Hollywood isn’t moving anywhere. I’ll figure it out when I get back.”
While she’s kept some details about her college experience under wraps, Yara did tell Entertainment Tonight reporters at the 2021 Emmy Awards about heading back to Massachusetts after presenting at the awards show.
“I do fly out tonight to make it to class in time,” she explained in September 2021 before presenting the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award. “The lovely people at The Academy really helped me out because I was like, ‘Guys, I have a hard out to make this flight.'”
Similarly, Emma Watson attended Brown University while shooting the final two Harry Potter movies. She also filmed The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring and Noah amid her university enrollment and officially graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature in May 2014.
“I really like the fact that it has a very open curriculum, that there aren’t any requirements,” Emma said of her education while speaking with Rookie Mag in 2013. “Really, I’ve kind of been in charge of my own education since I started out on Potter when I was 9 or 10, and I liked that I could design my own major if I wanted to, and I could take independent studies if I wanted to on subjects that weren’t necessarily in the curriculum.”
These two aren’t the only stars who’ve shown off their smarts! Bridgit Mendler and Timothée Chalamet also had Ivy League dreams that came true. Scroll through our gallery to see which stars were admitted to Ivy League universities.
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