Many would-be fashionistas think that if they want to make a name for themselves in the industry, they’ve got to go to fashion school. And while a college degree from a fashion design school is certainly a good way of putting your best stiletto forward, it’s not the only way.

Case in point: Rachel Zoe, the woman behind her eponymous company and clothing/accessory line and the star of Bravo’s hit show, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” which debuted its third season last night.

Zoe’s roster of celebrity clients reads like a veritable Who’s Who of Hollywood. One would assume that her flawless, sought-after style was honed at a top-notch fashion school, but you might die to learn that Zoe (as well as husband and business partner, Rodger Berman) are products of George Washington University in Washington, DC.

“That’s bananas!” you say? Well, it’s true. Zoe was a psychology and sociology major at GW, and while one could certainly say that she puts her liberal arts degree to good use by delving into the psyche of the fashionable movers and shakers in high society, it’s still a surprising academic choice.

I got the chance to ask Zoe about her degree when I caught up with her on a conference call last week to promote the new season of TRZP and asked her about her college choice. (Yes, amidst all the talk about fashion and celebrities, I was the nerdy blogger who asked about college.) Zoe admits that she didn’t know that a fashion career was in her future when she went was applying to college, and so liberal arts was the way to go.

“If you’re really not sure, go to a liberal art school,” Zoe says. “You can always transfer to a [fashion school] later,” she says. And did she ever “shut it down” with that college advice—transferring is always an option in college, especially if you discover that your real passion can best be fired up at a different school.

Zoe admits that if she knew then what she knows now, she would have chosen a fashion school like FIT in New York, but don’t cry for her, Hollywood—she’s doing just fine with her liberal arts degree.

–Barbara Bellesi