Photo: Splash News 

Not all celebrities can be as academically oriented as our crush of the week, James Franco. Although many celebs give college a shot (actress Dakota Fanning is a freshman at NYU where Disney royalty Dylan and Cole Sprouse also study), it seems like more often big name actors and actresses are calling it quits after their bout with higher education. Last week we learned that Emma Roberts left Sarah Lawrence College after only one semester. The official story is that she couldn’t balance her work as an English Literature major and her acting career (she’s slated to star in Spring Breakers with James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens) but sources say school wasn’t her main priority. Emma herself admitted to skipping a week of class to attend a Tibi show during New York Fashion Week. She told Us Weekly, “I ditched class to come to this show and that’s probably bad. I’m going back at the end of the week.”  Her long distance relationship might also be a factor. Her boyfriend, Glee cast member Chord Overstreet lives in L.A and a close friend told Life&Style that “Emma’s in love and wants to spend time with Chord. You can’t blame her!” What other celebs have left college before getting their degrees? Check out our list below! 

 Photo: Splash News

Emma Watson The Harry Potter star (seen above carrying actual school books!) took a semester off from her education at Brown University but squashed rumors that she left due to bullying. On March 7th, she announced on her official website that “I love Brown and I love studying pretty much more than anything but recently I’ve had so much to juggle that being a student AND fulfilling my other commitments has become a little impossible.” In April, the 21-year-old actress announced that she would spend her junior year abroad at Oxford University and would be returning to finish her senior year  at Brown. 

Photo: Splash News 

Kristin Cavallari According to an interview she did with The New York Post back in ’09, Kristin attended college for exactly one day. “I went to one class at Loyola Marymount… I said, ‘Hi, I’m Kristin Cavallari from Laguna Beach’ and that’s when ‘Laguna’ was actually on TV, so I just decided it wasn’t the right time.” The actress also has no plans to go back, “In high school … it was just enough. I’m really happy with what I’m doing. I read a lot of books, you know. So, I have no urge to go back to college.”  

Photo: Splash News 

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Despite spending over $7 million on the biggest dorm rooms of all time (the twins converted four penthouse apartments in one) for their time as students in the Gallatin program at NYU, both sisters dropped out before they completed their sophomore years. 

Photo: Splash News 

Reese Witherspoon Mother of two Reese attended Stanford University (the Ivy League school of California) but dropped out after only a year to focus on her acting career.

Photo: Splash News Anne Hathaway

The star of The Princess Diaries finished two years of college, first at Vassar and then at NYU but dropped out to focus on Brokeback Mountain, although she’s said that she would like to go back eventually. 

Photo: Splash News 

Brad Pitt This Hollywood superstar attended the University of Missouri but left school only two credits short of his degree and moved to L.A. to take acting  classes.

 Photo: Splash News 

Kate Beckinsale Underworld star Kate studied English and Russian literature at Oxford University but dropped out after three years to focus on acting. She told The Independent, “It was getting to the point where I wasn’t enjoying either thing enough because both were very high pressure. I was burning out and I knew I had to make a decision.”  

Photo: Splash News 

Joseph Gordon Levitt The 30-year old Inception star attended Columbia University, aiming for a degree in General Studies with a focus on French poetry and literature but left school in ’04 to focus on acting. Despite leaving, he loved college, telling The New York Times that during school, “I started to care about the world, and I wanted to somehow connect with it.”

 Photo: Splash News

Claire Danes This actress, known for her roles in Stardust and Romeo + Juliet among many others, got into an Ivy League school, but only studied psychology at Yale for two years before dropping out to pursue her acting career.