Jazz Jennings Considers Leaving Harvard Again — Is She in College Today?

In I Am Jazz, viewers have seen how trans activist Jazz Jennings and her family deal with her transition. The TLC reality series first premiered in 2015 when then 14-year-old Jazz was preparing to go to high school. Over the years, fans have watched Jazz, who became the youngest trans child on television after her 20/20 interview with Barabara Walters, deal with school, sports, dating, and her health as she moved forwards with her transition.

In Season 6, viewers saw the high school senior preparing to attend college. Jazz was accepted to both Harvard University and Pomona College. Her parents didn’t want her to go all the way out to California and made it known that they would rather see her at Harvard. In the end, Jazz chose to attend Harvard but decided at the last minute to delay starting college.

So is Jazz in college today?

As viewers saw during the Season 8 premiere, Jazz had just finished her first full year at Harvard at the time of filming.

"At school, I was finally independent for the first time, and I was able to put myself in situations that were fun and new for me," Jazz told cameras on the show. "I did a singing workshop, and I took courses that were really cool, and I joined club lacrosse and made friends there."

However, by Season 8, Episode 5, Jazz seemed to be re-thinking her future at Harvard.

"I don't want to disappoint either of you," she told her parents. "But I have thought about it, and there is a possibility that I might not go back to school after this semester, or I may go take a gap year to figure things out."

Jazz clarified that she planned on going back for fall semester but was unsure about the spring semester.

"I think there are so many options, so many paths for me. And I can see myself being successful without Harvard," she explained. "And obviously, I already kind of have a career as an LGBTQIA+ activist, and I could continue leaning on that and helping people."

It's unclear what Jazz ultimately chose to do — but we'll keep you updated when we learn more!

In October 2019, Jazz decided that she was not ready to attend college and, in a heartfelt message, revealed that she would be taking a year off. On her Instagram, she wrote, "I wanted to share some news. After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break before starting at Harvard. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it is the right one for me. These past few years have been so full and busy that I realized I could use some time to refocus and recenter to be the strongest version of myself."

She went on to say, "I am so grateful to have the support of my parents and Harvard in making this decision and look forward to focusing on some self-care and getting prepared to start this exciting next chapter in my life." Jazz took some time to do some soul searching and work on herself and shared on Instagram in February 2020 that she was ready to head to Harvard, but unfortunately, COVID-19 gripped the U.S. not long after her announcement.

Like many other students, she opted to wait out the pandemic from home. For those wondering if the young activist is in college, the answer is no. Jazz does, however, address delaying the Ivy League school in the trailer for the upcoming season of I Am Jazz. She says, “I was on my way to one of the greatest institutions in the world, but I was actually struggling severely with mental health issues.”

Ultimately, Jazz was readmitted to Harvard after proving that she could handle the rigor of being a full-time student. She did so by completing an internship and further working on her mental health.

Catch new episodes of I Am Jazz on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC and Discovery Plus.