Alex Dunphy is going to be a Bruin! Sharing her good news on Instagram, Modern Family actress Ariel Winter posted a picture of her acceptance letter to UCLA on Wednesday. Ariel has gone through several major life changes in the last few years. At 14, she was removed from her home due to her allegedly abusive mother and put under the guardianship of her sister, Shanelle. At 17, Ariel was granted emancipation. Following that, she made her breast reduction surgery public to help young women suffering with the same issues. Now, at 18, with the support of both her actual and TV families, Ariel is headed to college.
And just like that, Ariel Winter is preparing for college.
It feels like yesterday that Modern Family fans were watching the young star grow up right in front of our eyes, and now we’re here, preparing to send our little girl off to a university all on her own. OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it’s still pretty surreal to know that the 18-year-old is about to prepare for a huge new chapter in her life.
And today, Winter revealed to fans which university she decided to attend, and it looks like she’ll be rocking that blue and gold.
“It’s an AMAZING DAY! I’m going to UCLA,” she wrote on Instagram with a photo of her online admissions page from the school’s website. “Thank you to everyone who has been there for me on this journey! #bruinsbaby”
Does anyone else remember receiving their acceptance letter? Man, I do. Ariel is so much more comfortable with herself these day. I am delighted to see her go to such a great school. Maybe it is a celebrity acceptance but I didn’t find any evidence of that; I would rather give Ariel credit for putting in the work. Also, I come from a Bruins/Bears family and am married to a Trojan. Anytime I can rub a new Bruin in his face, my blue and gold heart skips a beat.
Her character on Modern Family is already away at college, which will allow for Ariel to film less as the show continues into it’s eighth season. When she appeared on Ellen last month, Ariel said that she loved her character, Alex, and thinks, “… it’s really important to show young girls that it’s cool to be smart as well as you can have friends, be cool.” She also said that, as a courtesy to her mother, she doesn’t discuss the reasons she sought emancipation publicly. Unfortunately, Ariel said, her mother did not extend the same generosity to her. Instead, her mother went on Dr. Phil to, as my mother would say, air their dirty laundry.
So congrats, Ariel! Your victory was hard earned.
It’s something good, that she’s proud of, what’s the problem ?
i would much rather see this than anything Kylie Jenner posts
Amen!
Show off! Be proud! She wants to get an education… She should be showy.
She’s like any other person getting into school. I posted my grad school acceptance on IG last week and when I went to college that acceptance letter. I was proud of my accomplishments and so should Ariel. I’d rather her inspire others to dream big and go to college than some stupid lip challenge.
Go Ariel. She’s come a long way
Agreed! She is an 18 year old girl who has been accepted to a great school and she is proud. Shout it from the rooftops, Honey.
Exactly!! Good for her- shout it from the rooftop, Ariel.
Seriously!
I’m confused. Is UCLA actually difficult to get into? It’s not Stanford. If it were, that’d be a great post. “Celebrity gets into state school” isn’t such a headline. Good for her, furthering her education and all, but I’m not sure what makes this newsy.
Obviously you don’t know this, but the more prestigious colleges of the University of California system are just as selective as any Ivy League. Getting in is extremely difficult and very much worthy of bragging rights.
UCLA was hard to get in to when I was applying 8 years ago, I’m sure it’s gotten even harder. At this point, even UC Davis is picky.
It’s fantastic, there’s really nothing to critize.
Congratulations, young woman!!!
I remember passing med entrance exam two years back, i still feel flutters.
It sure is something to make your parents and yourself proud.
Best of luck, miss winter.
Her mom abused her physically and emotionally.
Really? that’s rather pathetic of her mother. I don’t know much about this girl but it makes me more appreciative of her resolve for getting an education.
Abuse whether physical or verbal can really be devastating to anyone.
Education is a privilege_ a luxury which is denied to many unfortunate souls especially girls.
She is sending a beautiful message, an inspiring one at that!
Sends a good role model message, which is so necessary to do in social media. Good for her…last week I was slightly worried she was trying to be like the Kardashians, so anything showing otherwise isn’t a problem to me!
Funny thing.
In the top picture I won’t lie I thought it WAS a Kardashian!!
Nah not showy. I took pictures of my acceptance letter, but this was before there was any social media to post them to. Congrats to her, it sounds like she’s been through a lot and has taken control of the direction of her life from a very young age. Let her celebrate.
Agreed, 100%. I taped it to my bedroom door…but again, that was 1996…I had no other way of “showing off” to everyone on social media…i didnt even have email 🙂
I opened the letter on my front porch and whooped with surprise and joy, and construction workers a few houses down started whopping as well–we were like a herd of coyotes. Still don’t know how I got in–my kid, who is smarter and far more motivated than I was stands little chance of getting in (which is fine by me, lots of great schools out there).
Congratulations Ariel!!
Good for her! I too remember my acceptance letter from the college of my choice — that is something to celebrate! She could have taken the route of not pursuing further education and she did not. I applaud her. Clearly, emancipating herself at age 17 after being separated from her own mother at age 14, the girl has gone through some troubling times. Congratulations to her! Education is ALWAYS something to celebrate IMO.
Let’s hope she attends, and finishes her program, and doesn’t just leave to go do more acting. It’d be nice to see a young female star stick it out and not just live on instagram like so many do.
It’s wonderful to someone excited and proud about getting and education.
I think it’s fantastic, and I’m happy to see a person her age who realizes the importance of education. Maybe it will serve as a counterbalance to the duhhhh, I have a job, and that’s why people go to college, right? Good for her.
Agree 100% 🙂
This a 1000 times! I wish more celebrities would pursue an education and be proud of it!
Wonderful! It’s a far greater accomplishment than many things we see young women congratulating themselves on over insta every day (hair, nails, eyebrows on fleek, toned booty etc). It’s good for all her fans to see this, and for her to celebrate.
A young woman and a normal, exciting rite of passage. Congratulations to her.
Good for her! it’s good she’s building a future independent of stardom.
Congrats to her! It’s wonderful to see her pursuing and promoting education, and to see that her life is going well and she is happy.
She is mature and wonderful to work with, by all accounts. She’s been through he!l in her family life, and seems to have come through it gracefully.
I would much rather see young stars show off their college acceptance letters than their inflated whatevers.
Yay for Ariel. She is giving herself a big gift with this wise choice. She earned it.
I am happy for her. I like that she is excited and that she is aware of being a positive role model. A little counterbalance is always a good thing.
I’d love it if people posted more “diplomies” and “accepties” than selfies!
It’s an accomplishment and she should be proud of it. There was no IG (I think there wasn’t even FB?) when I got into uni but yeah, I would’ve posted that.
FLOTUS doing major college acceptance on social media this week. Much prefer this to Kim’s 55 inch nonsense
Show it off, girl. I remember I didn’t tell my parents when I applied to my top pick. When the small letter came, I just knew it was a sorry letter…..then I took some deep breathes, opened it. Tears of joy started streaming down my face. I just kept reading it over and over. I DID IT! It was honestly one of the proudest moments of my life. Graduating was great, BUT NOTHING beats acceptance letter moment!!!!!!! Congratulations.
Considering that garbage her peer group posts as “soooo important” on Instagram (hi Kartrashians!) she should have had a parade down Hollywood Blvd! Bravo for setting a good example.
Fantastic!! She should be proud of her accomplishments. That is a far better thing to post on social media than those Kylie Jenner posts where she does her nails for 5 hours, which is followed by a shower for 2 hours (in the middle of a drought) to then sit and do her makeup for the rest of the day.
First of all, tons of kids post acceptance letters on social media. I don’t see a problem with it. You should be proud and happy.
Second, her estranged mother have a really awful interview to Inside Edition. I think she’s trying to distract everyone from that negativity.
Also, that is my actually her acceptance letter. It’s her acceptance of their offer of admission, so she’s officially going to UCLA. It’s not just a show of ‘oh, look at all the college’s that accepted me’, it’s letting everyone know where she’s going next year
Ugh. I saw that Inside Edition interview. Her mother is the worst and you can see it just from that 2-3 minutes she was on.
Seriously, her mother basically blames her (Ariel) – like, “look at what you made me do!” And is she seriously implying that Ariel ever abused her? Good for Ariel for not commenting, because I would have my lawyers all up in that sh!t like “Have you ever heard of slander and libel and are you sure you can afford to lose a case like that, beyotch?”
That’s what abusers do. “I didn’t hit you, you’re the one that hit me.”
This is one of life’s major accomplishments! It is hard work to get into college especially a good one so yes she should post it! Good for her. I remember getting my acceptance letter it’s a big deal she should be proud.
And she has young fans this is a great role model moment showing college more then red carpet.
It is a great thing and she deserves to be proud. I can’t imagine why anyone would ask if it is “showy”. Being proud of going to college is not bragging.
Not showy at all, she is really excited about going to UNIVERSITY to get an education! I was too, if I had an IG I probably (most definitely ) have done the same thing. So congratulations young lady. Alex was/is one of my favourite characters on MF.
Love this! The perfect thing for a young woman her age to post and show off. She should be proud. Wishing Ariel lots of success.
It’s a wonderful feeling and a huge accomplishment.
She came from a rather chaotic childhood and then was a child star, so I think she has every right to brag and be proud that she’s going off to school. Not all those kids do that
Did anyone else notice in that same letter that her financial aid was provisionally awarded too? Seriously, she doesn’t earn enough as an actress to pay for her education without needing financial aid?
When her contract for Modern Family was renegotiated, she got $6M but her net worth is listed at $7M. It seems like it would be enough to pay for college but college is so absurdly expensive these says so who knows.
Plus, I’m sure that everyone gets a financial aid response, even if it is “congratulations! You have been awarded 0.00004% of your tuition in financial aid! Enjoy the coffee it will buy you at the campus cafeteria.”
LOL yeah that’s what I was thinking.
Thanks for all the explanations, guys. Man I feel so old…barely even remember what my admissions letter said.
It’s probably something included in every letter of admission, no big deal. I doubt she’ll actually ask for it.
Anyway, it’s just great to see someone excited to go to college! Yes, she’s making a lot of money right now, but she seems to have had a pretty terrible childhood, so being able to overcome all that is awesome! I’m sure she’ll enjoy having some form of a normal, young adult life. She definitely seem well grounded and I wish her the best.
I have a friend that works in college admissions. For many big state universities, when they send out the acceptance letter, they don’t base it off your financial status that was supposed to be included in your FAFSA. So everyone who is accepted is provisionally offered financial aid if they qualify. There is usually language that states ‘your financial aid package is dependent on a number of factors blah blah blah’
Once you accept your admission, they review your FAFSA and present you with your aid package a few weeks later (if any). It just keeps them from having to review FAFSA stuff for every student that applies and only for the ones that are actually coming to UCLA.
Provisionally just means here that she’s pre-approved for financial aid if she needs it. She still would have to apply and meet financial criteria.
She, like nearly everyone accepted to college, is probably eligible for unsubsidized federal loans, which are the kind that one must pay interest on immediately (or have it compounded while in school). I doubt she plans to use them, but if her earnings are being held in trust till she’s 25 or something, she’ll need options. Point being that financial aid doesn’t just refer to need based grants.
ETA: This was just a general comment, not a correction of JWoolman’s post.
Well, it’s better than showing off her bling, lip kits, and obvious plastic surgery. Too many girls think the living blow-up dolls known as Kardashians are real life. It’s refreshing to see a young woman excited about college.
Good for her! My oldest is a senior and posted on FB when she decided what school she was going to attend. The crazy thing is that other than one college that still sends snail mail, all the others that she applied to just put the results up on the student’s portal-she had to keep logging on all through March to see where she’d gotten in. And I agree with everyone else-I would much rather see a young celeb posting this than all the other silly stuff.
I was about to ask if that’s how schools do it nowadays. I remember getting my fat and fancy acceptance envelope from my college. Part of me thinks it’s great that they’re saving money – part of me is jaded and wonders if that savings is actually being passed on to the students (/parent). Anyhow – congrats to you and your daughter!!
It is NEVER showy to show that you were accepted to a college. My dad went to UCLA as well so YAY! to another Bruin!
Good for her!!! That’s awesome!!!
Just to mirror all the other comments here: her post was really cute and made me smile. College is an incredible experience that I think every young person should have. Congrats, Ariel!
Show it off! She should be proud. Congratulations.
This didn’t really need a “this or that” headline. Especially when the tone of the write up isn’t negative at all. But I guess we may not have clicked on it otherwise.
Showy, but rightfully so! Congrats to her. I’m sure she’ll be an excellent student!
So refreshing, a young actress showing off her intelectual accomplishments.
Good for her. I wouldn’t have posted it, but that’s me. I remember the moms with the bumper stickers…..my child is on the honor roll….is on the football team…blah blah. But anyhoo compared to other recent igs from celebs this is a good one.
A college acceptance letter is the best thing to show off. Congrats to her!!!
Good on her for pursuing her education. Congrats, Ariel!
Better than the Kardashians. Have they even gotten genuine High School diploma? haha No Ariel is a better role model on IG than other celebs .
Smart, strong and pretty. Congrats Ariel, way to go!
No different than any other teenager posting on fb…she should he proud of herself.
Hell yeah! Show it off. I was worried about her coz she might suffer from child star syndrome especially she’s newly emancipated. I’m glad she’s going to college.
Right on! As other commenters have posted, she is showing that there is an alternate path…one of education and enlightenment. I’m 43 and the mother of 3 boys, and with today’s pop culture of the Kardashian mind-vacuum, it is wonderful to see a Hollywood woman (not girl…woman!) really going the right direction for her future.
I’m a UCLA alum and I bragged my face off after getting in. It’s a huge accomplishment and the best decision ever. Welcome to the Bruin family Ariel 🙂
GO BRUINS!
My eldest son is a junior in high school, so this is a big YEEHAW, YAY ARIEL, CONGRATS GIRL, THOSE BRUINS ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU, CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!
Wonderful news and amazing accomplishment. I love that she is excited and proud. We are excited and proud of you too, Ariel!!!!
Yeah for her. That is awesome.
My high school mascot and colors was bruins blue, and gold. My favorite teacher in high school graduated from UCLA. So I have a soft heart for the university too, Hecate.
Good for her! And UCLA is a great school! I remember getting my college acceptance letter. It was our Senior Skip Day (an unofficial day off) and my friends and I were going bowling. I checked the mailbox at home and ran back into the house to show my mom and friends. I was the first one out of my friends to get a college acceptance letter and we just celebrated all day. Later, when I got my grad school acceptance, I posted the letter on Facebook and reveled in the likes and comments I got on my post LOL! There’s just something about that first moment when you open the envelope….
Nothing wrong with this. Better than half naked pics on display.
Congratulations! I’d rather see a young girl posting about her acceptance to university rather than her ass, or boobs or a selfie duck face.
Love the pink dress on the left, she looks so pretty!
at first, i thought kind of annoying. but really, good for her. with all the bs on instagram, why not re-highlight the beauty and excitement and of achieving further education? good for her and her muffin top:)
I think this is awesome! This is the type of role model girls need out there! She has a lucrative acting career with modern family and could easily decide to bypass college. I think this again goes to show her maturity and that she truly has her head on her shoulders. It’s exciting to be accepted to the college you want to attend, young girls can post this over selfies all day every day in my book.
Not showy at all. When I was accepted to college years ago, we all put our letters on facebook. I was at boarding school and it was common practice to put your letter up on the wall outside of your room. She’s also probably very excited. When I got into Yale early, I told everyone that I could. I wasn’t bragging (we had about 8-9 admits there and 99% of our students went on to college after high school), I was just excited and stunned that it even happened.
Not a bad thing to do, and after Miley saying that Saturn is Jupiter I’m even better with her post.
I am a UCLA alum and remember the joy I felt after reading the first word in my acceptance letter, “Congratulations…..” I wanted to shout from the rooftops how thrilled I was to be one of the first members in my family to attend college. If social media existed back then, I am absolutely certain I would have posted my acceptance letter for all to see. Alas, I just posted the letter on my refrigerator to admire as I went about my daily routines. As other posters have noted, posting college acceptance letters is infinitely more interesting than young ladies posting duck-lipped selfies and twerkin’ for the ‘Gram.
Showy but in an acceptable way. Boasting about earned achievements you’re excited about is fine in my book. I’m applying to medical school for 2017, and you bet your booty that if I get in any of my top 3, I’m putting that acceptance letter on a sign in my front yard.