Justine Bateman Is a College Freshman and Blogging About It

Justine Bateman was a child star who became a household name with "Family Ties." Now, all she wants is an "A"!

The 47-year-old former actress is a freshman at UCLA, and judging from her blog, she's kicking academic butt. Fifteen minutes of fame? Forget that!

"I was just thinking about 15 minutes and what can you do in 15 minutes and I realized, when I'm in an exam and the time is ticking, I can get from an 'F' to a 'B' in 15 minutes, MoFo," she wrote on her Tumblr.

In one post, Bateman mused on the stark differences between her life now and during the height of "Family Ties." She recently watched a clip of herself on "The Arsenio Hall Show," which triggered a nostalgic moment: "Funny to see me in that moment where everything seemed to be so fluid and easy. If you were on a top TV Show at that time, EVERYONE knew you. Everyone. Even though I worked hard at acting and on the show and other projects, it's not really working hard when the wave is just going your way."

Her brother, "Arrested Development" star Jason Bateman, supports Justine in taking a new path away from acting.

"I'm not surprised that one of us is in a different place than the other — no better, no worse, just in a different place," he told GQ. "It was surprising when [our careers] were at the same place or similar: both on television series, both on the same network. Hers was wildly successful, my stuff was sort of middling all the time, but it was pretty neat to be in the same house and both be on television. It was pretty interesting."

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Bateman is not the first celebrity to go back to school to earn a degree. "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria recently graduated with a master's degree in Chicano studies. At the age of 55, legendary director Steven Spielberg returned to Cal State Long Beach to complete his bachelor's degree. And, of course, there's James Franco, who's piling up degrees from various universities.

For Bateman, pursuing a degree to become a computer programmer is not nearly as easy as acting -- but it is rewarding. "I have a great life, it's not that, but the professional progress proportionate to my effort is so opposite from my life in the '80s. Maybe it's I'm far more specific about what I want to do," she noted.

"It's like being a competitive runner in training. You just hammer it as hard as you can so you'll be the best you can be at your races, but damn, it would be nice to just walk there sometimes instead."