Although his early screen roles often lacked intelligence, Ashton Kutcher has achieved great success in life. Did his path include earning a college degree?
Ashton Kutcher left college before receiving his degree. He enrolled at the University of Iowa in 1996, intending to major in biochemical engineering, motivated largely by wanting to find a cure for his brother’s heart disease. Kutcher left college after being discovered as a model, then moved to pursue a career in Hollywood.
For more on Ashton Kutcher’s time in college and his decision to leave, read on.
Early Learning
Ashton Kutcher was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended Washington High School in his freshman year but transferred to Amana High School when his family moved to Homestead, Iowa.
Kutcher was known to be an intelligent student but his studies were negatively impacted by an increasingly difficult home life in his teens.
Ashton’s fraternal (non-identical) twin brother, Michael, had been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when the boys were three, significantly stunting his physical development.
In their early teens, Michael’s condition worsened when he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a condition that led to his heart swelling to approximately four times its usual size. Initially given a month to live by doctors, he suffered cardiac arrest and his life expectancy shortened to 48 hours.
Ashton offered to give his own heart to his brother but Michael was fortunately saved by a last-minute heart transplant from another donor.
Even though Michael had endured the worst of his condition, the experience seriously affected Ashton. He stayed away from his house, afraid that going home would only present him with more bad news about his brother. His parents also separated, divorcing when Ashton was 16.
Although he was struggling at home, high school did present Ashton with his first acting experiences and he fell in love with performing, perhaps partly as a form of escapism.
Kutcher’s journey through school hit its lowest point in his senior year. He and a cousin broke into Amana High in an attempt to steal money and were arrested on their way out. He was charged with third-degree burglary, sentenced to three years’ probation and 180 hours’ community service.
The experience, in his words, “straightened [him] out” but it affected his school life even more negatively, ostracizing him from the rest of the students.
College Life
Another consequence of Kutcher’s actions in high school was that he lost any potential for scholarship money, which he anticipated depending on in college.
Even so, he enrolled at the University of Iowa, planning to major in biochemical engineering. His greatest motivation for choosing the subject was the hope of one day helping to find a cure for his brother’s health issues.
He took summer and part-time jobs to pay his tuition fees, sweeping cereal dust in his hometown’s General Mills plant.
Though he was more level headed than during his high school days, Kutcher embraced the college lifestyle to excess. He was a frequent partier, to the point that he was eventually kicked out of his apartment for causing too much noise.
Kutcher has said that he believed he knew everything but, in truth, knew nothing.
While at a bar in Iowa City, Kutcher was approached by a modeling scout who recommended he enter a regional modeling competition. Kutcher won and was invited to enter a larger competition in New York, losing to Josh Duhamel.
Ashton took the money he had saved and moved to Los Angeles, dropping out of college to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. He was soon cast in “That ’70s Show” and the rest is history.
Despite leaving the college, Kutcher’s association with the University of Iowa was not forgotten. He made a surprise appearance during a 2020 virtual graduation ceremony, giving the commencement speech and sharing some of his life story.