It’s official: Emma Watson is going to Brown University.
Pity.
Watson has been quiet about what school she will attend in the fall, although her “Harry Potter” co-star, Daniel Radcliffe, let slip earlier this month in an interview with The Guardian that the actress had decided on Brown. Watson herself confirmed the decision in an interview with Paste Magazine, saying she will study literature at the school.
In the interview, Watson emphasized that she is not just another pretty face:
Paste: And was that [a] deliberate choice, to step out of the limelight for a while?
Watson: It’s not so much that, no, I’m not trying to hide or anything like that. It sounds so geeky, but I really do like studying and reading, and if I’m not working on Harry Potter, then my greatest relaxation is to sit with a book. That’s how I escape stress—in literature. I always have several books on the go at any one moment, so it’s no good you asking “What’s on the bedside table at the moment, Emma?” because often I can’t even see the table! I think that all that reading is just about the only similarity I have with Hermione, if you ask me.
Paste: It’s going to be vastly different environment.
Watson: Yes, and that’s what makes it all so exciting. I’ll be sorry to leave all my family and friends behind, but hey, it’s only a few hours’ flight home.
Click here for a thorough recap of Watson’s college search, courtesy of the Brown Daily Herald. Reports at various times had linked Watson to Yale (here, here and here, with the second report debunked here), Harvard (here), Brown (here), Columbia (here) and Cambridge (here).
It’s anyone’s guess why Watson passed on Yale; her publicist did not return a telephone message seeking comment. And while she visited the University twice, Watson never actually finished her application and formally applied, officials in the Admissions Office said.
Nicolas Niarchos contributed reporting.
(Photo: Max Nash/Agence France-Presse—Getty Images)