Olsen Twins College: So What Did Mary-Kate and Ashley Do at NYU?

Remember when the Olsen twins were in college for all but a New York minute? Yeah, it's all a blur now, but back in 2004 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen matriculated at New York University, paving the way for celebrity twins for years to come. And now that we think about it, what exactly did Mary-Kate and Ashley do when they went to NYU, besides wear 14 layers of clothing while clutching gigantic Starbucks cups?

Well, we can answer one thing definitively: leave early.

Mary-Kate was the first to bounce, returning for her sophomore year, but setting sail as early as October 2005. Among the many vague reasons for just up and leaving, hearsay was that she was broken-hearted over ex Stavros Niarchos III; in a perfectly mid-2000s move, the Greek shipping heir had just taken up with Paris Hilton. "[Paris and I] always only had nice things to say about each other," MK told W Magazine at the time. "Now I guess you can tell we're not talking." Yikes.

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Ashley dropped out later in the year, always having to back-pack on Mary-Kate's decisions. Whatever, Ashley. She did, however, make an interesting vouch to get into the school, citing Jackson Pollack's "Number One" as a metaphor for her life in her application essay.

"Some people look at it as complete mayhem, or just paint splattered on a canvas, and yet there’s so much emotion behind it," Ashley explained. "Some people will never, ever get that."

Cool, so she got that whole NYU pretension thing down, at least. Below, fond memories of what the twins were up to in their year(s) as college students

They bought a $7.43 million penthouse to dorm-it-up-in…and then never lived in it.

And then, the Olsen twins' penthouse just laid around on the market for years after they left the school. Why? "We got this huge apartment and designed it," Ashley told New York Mag, "and then we never moved into it because we decided to live apart, and it was the best decision we ever made." Lol, Ash, that's so funny! That's just like when we think we're going to DIY glitter heels that we saw on Pinterest and never get around to it. You know, except for that part where you wasted more than 7 million dollars. Casual.

They enrolled in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study where Mary-Kate was a Ponies major with a minor in Butterflies.

Ok, we can't verify that this is true (though we're down to believe it's canon), it's just worth noting that the Gallatin School is notorious for its practice of creating your own major. During their short time, the girls reportedly studied architecture (Ashley) and photography (Mary-Kate). And that's not all…

Mary-Kate took some acting classes.

Is this funny because the twins have been on camera since they were nine months old, or because they twins had been on camera since they were nine months old and still couldn't act? In any case, Mary-Kate studied acting during her freshman year and has like one bit role on Weeds to show for it. Fashion is really more her thing, tbh.

Ashley interned at Zac Posen.

Hey, interning is totally a fun, exhausting, dehumanizing experience that regular college students undergo. Stars, they're just like us!

Actually, just kidding since Ashley's time working for the designer seemed super chill. "Ashley was present through a season in the studio one to two days a week, and I tried to create as hands-on an experience for her as possible," Zac Posen shared. "She came in person and knocked on the door to get her internship, which is four steps farther than most interns go. She had that drive and that’s what makes someone special."

We're unsure that strategy would've gone well if anyone other than a literal Olsen twin knocked at the door looking for an internship.

They were constantly swarmed by students and collegiate "spies."

Look, this is kind of to be expected when you're an 18-year-old celebrity millionaire attending a massive university…and so is your near-identical twin sister. The paparazzi were on the twins' tails (expected), but then the two couldn't even get privacy while learning. Part of the reason Mary-Kate left, in fact, was because she didn't feel comfortable surrounded by students who were selling pictures and anecdotes to the press. "They'd have internships at the weeklies," she said. "Learning is not fun if you're not safe."

Um, there may have been some hard-partying, all the while being flanked by their bodyguards.

The Olsens were apparently hitting up Butter and Mercury Lounge and getting into all sorts of trouble. A former bodyguard reported to Nartional Enquirer that Mary-Kate specifically loved smoking up and was getting so wasted she had to be carried home.

Which if you think about it, is pretty much what college sounds like, but guess it's more controversial when you're famous stars who gained fame for your adorable hit single, "Brother For Sale."