AMANDA BYNES - BYNES TO STUDY AT NYU?

Young actress AMANDA BYNES is set to follow in the footsteps of fellow teen queens MARY-KATE and ASHLEY OLSEN, by studying at New York University.

The WHAT A GIRL WANTS star, 19, graduated from California's Thousand Oaks High School in 2004 and is currently filming the fourth season of her TV show with JENNIE GARTH, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU.

However, a friend tells gossip site The Scoop, Bynes has applied to the Manhattan college with the hope of starting next year (06).

The pal says, "She wants a college education.

"I don't know how that will affect her acting career, but she definitely wants to do it."