It may seem like all of your favorite celebrities made it big at a young age, without even completing their education. It’s true, many of today’s big names in music did find success as teenagers, however this is far from the truth. If you’re considering trying to start a career in music without going to college, you might want to take a look at some of the big stars who got their start in a college or university. In fact, you never know where an education might lead you, as these famous and talented musicians found out.
Sheryl Crow
Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow started her career after graduating from the University of Missouri way back in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in performance, music composition, and education! She went on to use her degree to teach music classes in an elementary school in Missouri. In 1986 she broke into the music world and has since then been awarded an honorary degree from her alma mater in 2011 for her music education and promotion.
Chris Martin
This Coldplay frontman has an unusual degree to go with his career. After attending University College London where he read ancient world studies, Chris graduated with a degree in Greek and Latin! Not only did he graduate, but Chris was awarded a first-class honors! It was here that Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Guy Berryman met and later went on to form Coldplay in 1996.
Lana Del Rey
32-year old superstar Lana Del Rey not only has numerous awards and nominations for her music but at age 19 she also enrolled at Fordham University where she would major in philosophy, emphasizing on metaphysics. Here she would study how to close the gap between science and God, as well as how to use technology to bring everyone closer to finding out where it was we came from and why we’re here in the first place. It wasn’t until she left University that she would undertake a journey that eventually lead her to her music career and to the superstardom she now has!
Pete Wentz
Rock god Pete Wentz wasn’t always writing music and did, in fact, attend DePaul University where he studied political science. Wentz, unfortunately, dropped out one-quarter away from finishing his degree, but some would say it was for a good cause as his reason for leaving was so he could solely focus on Fall Out Boy! He has since been involved in plenty of projects to help people worldwide, including UNICEF’s Tap Project, and Invisible Children, Inc, proving Pete Wentz is a man of many talents.
Whether it’s a degree in English or studying political science, these celebrities seem to know what they are talking about when given a chance to discuss their studies! Going to college or university somehow makes these musicians feel more relatable, and it goes to show, that even if you don’t use your degree in Greek and Latin on a daily basis, you just never know where studying it may lead you in the future, perhaps a grammy or two?
