Noah Schnapp Graduates Penn While Stranger Things Wraps

The Upside Down couldn’t stop Noah Schnapp, and neither could a demanding course load at one of the nation’s toughest business schools. On Monday, May 18, the Stranger Things star officially graduated from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a bachelor’s degree in business—and naturally, he marked the occasion with an iconic Elle Woods reference.

In his Instagram post celebrating the milestone, Schnapp quoted the famous line from Legally Blonde:“What, like it’s hard???”The 21-year-old struck a beaming pose in his cap and gown, surrounded by family pride: his twin sister Chloe, and their parents Karine and Mitchell Schnapp. The Philadelphia commencement ceremony brought together his entire graduating class, and fellow celebrities took note—Jake Bongiovi, husband of Schnapp’s Stranger Things costar Millie Bobby Brown, was among those offering congratulations.

What makes Schnapp’s achievement even more impressive is the timeline. He enrolled at Penn in fall 2022 and completed his final courses while simultaneously filming the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. That’s not just balancing act—that’s a juggling routine. He spent those years studying entrepreneurship and innovation, a pivot he made after initially considering a path in acting.“Acting was just kind of repetitive, and I wanted to try something new,”he explained to Flaunt magazine, noting that business felt like a more natural direction.

That entrepreneurial spirit isn’t just academic. Schnapp has already launched TBH, his snack brand, which he created with a specific mission: to ditch palm oil and embrace eco-friendly ingredients. His business ambitions align with a bigger-picture goal he’s expressed about using his platform for positive change.“I want to leverage my voice and use it to make a change on this Earth,”he shared. Beyond the product itself, he’s channeled his social media reach toward spreading ideas that help people feel less alone in their struggles—turning celebrity influence into something with actual substance.

The timing of his graduation came just days after Schnapp attended the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of El Ser Querido, proving he’s managing to build multiple careers simultaneously. Penn President Larry Jameson told graduates during the ceremony that“the world will test you, but you are ready”—advice that seems tailor-made for a guy who’s literally balancing Hollywood stardom with a rigorous Wharton education. Schnapp’s proven he’s more than ready.