It is always rewarding to see your work play out in the lives of the students you serve. But every once in a while, it can be fun to see the field of college admission make headlines thanks to celebrities who are going through the process.
These celebs headed off to college or announced their college plans this year:
Yara Shahidi
Black-ish fans watched as Yara Shahidi’s character, Zoey Johnson, went through the college application process and was accepted into college this fall. While the show was airing, art was imitating life. Shahidi got accepted into all seven schools she applied to and announced on Instagram that she would be attending Harvard.
Nolan Gould
Like Shahidi, Gould and his character both went through the college application process together this year. However, while Luke on Modern Family struggled, Gould excelled. He graduated high school at age 13 and has taken a few college courses since that time. He recently announced that he got into the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, though he plans to defer acceptance until filming on the popular sitcom ends.
Ariel Winter
Winter, also of Modern Family fame, is now a crosstown rival of her onscreen brother, Gould. She took a gap year, but started taking classes this fall at the University of California Los Angeles.
Malia Obama
The former first daughter made the concept of taking a productive gap year famous. She spent a year traveling and interning before starting at Harvard this fall. Maybe Obama and Shahidi can be roommates next year!
Malala Yousafzai
Yousafzai, the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, started classes at the University of Oxford this fall, studying philosophy, politics, and economics. Yousafzai has been an advocate for education for girls all over the world, even facing extreme violence for her cause. Although the 20-year-old is already internationally known for her work promoting education, she admitted that the prospect of university hadher a bit daunted A few days before the semester started, she tweeted out to her 1.1 million followers asking for tips.
5 years ago, I was shot in an attempt to stop me from speaking out for girls’ education. Today, I attend my first lectures at Oxford. pic.twitter.com/sXGnpU1KWQ
— Malala (@Malala) October 9, 2017
Ashley Dobson is NACAC’s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org.