Maggie Gyllenhaal rejected by Yale

Maggie Gyllenhaal was rejected by the prestigious Yale University when she was applying for college places.

The Dark Knight star longed to study at the famed institute in New Haven, Connecticut, but her dreams were shattered when her application was turned down.

Gyllenhaal ended up studying literature at Columbia University in New York, but admits she nearly didn't win a place there either.

She tells Gotham magazine, "I wanted to go to Yale, but they didn't accept me. Columbia didn't accept me at first, either - they put me on the wait list. Once I was there, I realised I wouldn't have finished college if I weren't in the city."