12-Year-Old to Enter College—as a Junior

Tanishq Abraham gets accepted by two universities
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2016 4:50 PM CDT
12-Year-Old to Enter College—as a Junior
Tanishq Abraham, 12, talks in a recent interview at American River College in Sacramento, Calif.   (KOVR-TV via AP)

Tanishq Abraham just got accepted by two California universities—not bad for a 12-year-old. The Sacramento boy, who graduated from high school at age 10 and received three associate's degrees from a community college last year, says he still hasn't decided which university to accept, NBC News reports. University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of California, Davis, have both accepted him as a junior-year transfer from American River College (ARC). "I'm pretty excited," says Tanishq. "I've been waiting for this for quite some time now. I'll finally be working on my bachelor's. It's very exciting." Tanishq says UC Davis is just a 20-minute drive from his parents' place, while UC Santa Cruz is willing to give Tanishq the Regents Scholarship, its top honor for new students.

"I am still debating between them," he says. "There are some benefits to both of them." How did all this happen? His parents say he always digested information quickly and became a MENSA member at 4 years old. After wrapping up high school, he graduated as best in his class at ARC, appeared on Conan O'Brien and a Lifetime reality competition, and gave a Ted Talk. Now he's planning a career in medicine after studying biomedical engineering: "I think I’ll be 18 when I get my MD," he tells CBS Sacramento. Is he worried about fitting in at university? "Based on my experiences with ARC, at first, they're a little confused," he admits. "But once they get used to me, they don't treat that differently. We're all just friends and have fun." (More geniuses stories.)

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