You’ve probably seen her as Belly Conklin, the girl caught in the world's most stressful love triangle on Cousins Beach. But before the millions of Instagram followers and the American Eagle campaigns, Lola Tung was just another freshman trying to survive acting studio at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
It’s a bit of a "pinch me" story. Honestly, the kind of thing that feels like it only happens in movies, which is ironic considering she’s now the face of one of the biggest teen dramas on the planet.
The Pittsburgh Pivot: Why Carnegie Mellon?
Lola didn't just stumble into acting. She’s a New Yorker through and through—a graduate of the legendary "Fame" school, LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. When it came time for college in 2020, she aimed for the best. Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama is notoriously difficult to get into. We’re talking about an acceptance rate that makes Ivy League schools look like a safety option.
She moved to Pittsburgh in the fall of 2020.
Think about that timing. It was the height of the pandemic. Masks, social distancing, and probably way too many Zoom rehearsals. While most students were just trying to figure out where to get the best coffee near Forbes Avenue, Lola was deep in the trenches of CMU’s intensive acting program. It’s a place known for breaking you down to build you back up.
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The Audition That Changed Everything
During her second semester in early 2021, Lola’s manager sent her a script. It was for a new Amazon Prime series based on Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty books.
Lola actually filmed her audition tapes in her dorm room.
Her roommates—who were also drama majors—helped her out. It’s kinda wild to think that while she was studying the technicalities of Meisner or Stanislavski in class, she was recording the tapes that would eventually end her college career. Within days, she was asked to test for the role. By April 2021, she was officially cast as Belly.
Did Lola Tung Graduate from Carnegie Mellon?
This is the question that pops up in every Reddit thread. The short answer: No.
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Lola Tung left Carnegie Mellon after completing her freshman year. When you get the lead in a major streaming series, you don't really say, "Hold on, I have a mid-term in Stage Movement." She took what was initially described as a leave of absence to film Season 1.
However, fame moves fast.
Between filming multiple seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty, making her Broadway debut as Eurydice in Hadestown in 2024, and landing a role in the 2026 horror film Forbidden Fruits, the "leave of absence" basically became a permanent exit. She’s often referred to as a "dropout" in interviews, though she usually frames it as a "really weird COVID year" that turned into the greatest curveball of her life.
The CMU Connection Today
Even though she doesn't have the diploma, the Carnegie Mellon influence is all over her work.
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- The Discipline: CMU is famous for its "conservatory" style, which is basically a 9-to-9 grind of acting, voice, and movement.
- The Network: Many of her closest friends in the industry are still people she met during those few months in Pittsburgh.
- The Technique: You can see the stage-trained precision in her Broadway run. Hadestown isn't an easy vocal or emotional lift, and her CMU foundation clearly helped her bridge the gap between TV acting and live theater.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Education
There’s a common misconception that she skipped training altogether because she’s so young. That’s just not true. Between four years at LaGuardia and a year at Carnegie Mellon, Lola had more formal training by age 18 than many actors get in a lifetime.
She wasn't just "discovered" on TikTok. She was a theater kid who worked the system until the system worked for her.
What’s Next for Lola?
If you’re looking for a lesson in the "Lola Tung Carnegie Mellon" saga, it’s basically that plans are meant to be broken. She went to Pittsburgh to become a stage actress and ended up a global teen icon before she could even declare a minor.
Actionable Insights for Aspiring Actors:
- Training Still Matters: Even if you don't finish the degree, the prestige of a school like CMU on your resume (and the skills you learn there) gives you massive credibility with casting directors.
- Use Your Resources: Lola used her college roommates to help film her breakout audition. Your peers are your first professional network.
- Be Ready to Pivot: If a life-changing opportunity arrives, don't be afraid to put the traditional path on hold. You can always go back to school, but you can't always be the lead in a hit series.
Lola Tung is currently focusing on her film career, with Forbidden Fruits set for a 2026 release, proving that while she left Carnegie Mellon behind, she definitely took the work ethic with her.