<p>Julia Stiles - Columbia
Anna Paquin - Currently at Columbia</p>
<p>Many young actors take time off to attend college. A few I can think of offhand...</p>
<p>NYU has hundreds of alumni who went on to be famous. A few who were famous before they arrived are:</p>
<p>Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Haley Joel Osment, Mara Wilson, Anne Hathaway.</p>
<p>UCLA:</p>
<p>Danica McKellar, Mayim Bialik</p>
<p>Yale:</p>
<p>Jordana Brewster, Jennifer Beals, Sara Gilbert</p>
<p>Harvard:</p>
<p>Jonathan Taylor Thomas</p>
<p>USC:</p>
<p>Ron Howard, Joseph Mazzello</p>
<p>Columbia:</p>
<p>Anna Pacquin, Joseph Gordon Levitt</p>
<p>Brown:</p>
<p>Leelee Sobieski</p>
<p>Not all of them graduate, some take longer than the usual four years.</p>
<p>
[quote]
benny1, you don't know what you are talking about. An actress who does not work for four years is dead to the business. There are always 1000 people waiting to take their place. Wie can play quite a few tournies in the summer and over breaks.
[/quote]
Oh, is that so? Let me remind of the aforementioned Brooke Shields and Jodi Foster and their respective careers pre- and post-college. </p>
<p>Shields was a popular child model who also appeared in the films Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon. After college, she starred in her own sitcom, Suddenly Susan for four years and appeared in the Broadway productions of Grease, Chicago, and Cabaret.</p>
<p>Foster was also a hugely popular child star mostly in film. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Taxi Driver at the age of 14. After college, she continued to star in films, including The Accused, Little Man Tate, Silence of the Lambs, Nell, Panic Room, etc. </p>
<p>She has starred in over 22 movies since graduating from college, and has won 2 Academy Awards. That's hardly dead in the business. </p>
<p>I can think of few athletes who stopped their career in the middle to attend college full time. I'm not talking about attending part-time or taking off the term in which their season takes place, or taking courses online, but doing the regular college thing, in class, on campus, all year, like a regular student.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In fact, Stanford does a pretty good job of getting its athletes back on campus to finish their degrees after their professional lives are finshed...
[/quote]
Interesting points, however Michelle Wie is not going to be a "Stanford athlete." She will not be playing on one of their sports teams. And also, the life of a pro football player, or even baseball player is so short compared to the life of a pro golfer that coming back to campus to complete a degree seems reasonable. In Wie's case she will probably be torn between a golf career where she showed a lot of promise as a young teen but now seems to be struggling on the course, although still raking in the endorsement dollars, and the strong academic emphasis from her family. She will try to do both but something will give. It's anyone's guess what will give.</p>
<p>xiggi, yes, perhaps taking 3 or 4 years off from full time competitive golf and attending Stanford is what MW wants to do and I say hooray for that.</p>
<p>But you comment about not having any amateur competition? MW has not won a meaningful tournament since she was 13. Seems there was lots of amateur competition out there for her. More so now that her game has taken a turn for the worse.</p>
<p>Like I said before, I wish we could turn the clock back so she could attend Stanford and do what she seems to love, ie play some intercollegiate golf like a regular student.</p>
<p>Originaloong by your reasoning there is only one path to success in golf. I guess you would have told Bob Gilder you have no chance. After all he wasnt very good in high school. He only played in two tournaments for ASU. Then bumped around mini tours. Finally he had a successful PGA and now a Champions Tour career. I could site many examples of late bloomers and sure fire stars that never made it.</p>
<p>Winning USGA Championships doesnt seem to guarantee success at any professional level. Most tour players took other paths to success instead building an impressive USGA record before they turn pro.</p>
<p>I was taught David Leadbetters swing by disciples in the early nineties after using another method for 23 years. You have some ups and downs with the techniques he uses I know I did and still do. Only Scott Hoch avoided them. So Michelle will have consistency problems but they should not be something that will damage her confidence. </p>
<p>I suspect one of Michelles biggest problems will be avoiding injuries. Paula Creamer had a throwaway year because of wrist problems. A shorter schedule while her body matures may just what she needs to succeed long-term. Her other problem seems to be putting. College may be the perfect time to improve it away from competition</p>
<p>POB, can you tell me where I suggested there was only one way to a successful golf career? In this discussion about MW, who is a remarkable talent, I am only suggesting that the path chosen by or for her may turn out badly. And using Bob Guilder as an example is a poor one. Guilder was a good journeyman player on the PGA Tour but MW wants to be the best female golfer ever, wants to play on the PGA Tour, play in the Masters, and play on a Ryder Cup team. That is dilusional and even her coach, DL has suggested that she would be better served playing with the women at this stage of her young career.</p>