Boy, 12, graduates from high school; to take double degree in college
A 12-year-old boy from New York just graduated from high school and is set to take a double degree in college.
Good Morning America reported that Suborno Isaac Bari graduated from Malverne High School, skipping 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grades and only completing 4th, 8th, 10th and 12th grades even as he passed the New York State Regents examinations.
"It's been an absolutely wonderful experience," Suborno is quoted as saying. "I met so many great people and I've learned a lot in both math and science and other disciplines. But I think I'm ready to move on and pursue my higher education to the best of my ability."
Bari told CNN that he plans to finish college in two years.
Rebecca Gottesman, the director of K-12 school counseling at Malverne Union Free School District, said they entered into an agreement with Bari's family, in which the boy would take higher-level classes while still bonding with his peers.
He would attend middle school as an eighth grader and after his morning classes, he would take the bus to the elementary school to join his fifth-grade peers and participate in fifth-grade electives and other school activities.
Bari got 1500 out of 1600 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT, 34 out of 36 on the American College Testing or ACT, and finished five advanced placement or AP classes.
"He really a wonderful, wonderful young man. He's got an inquisitiveness and a thirst for knowledge, like nobody I've ever seen," Gottesman said. "He's been a joy to work with."
Bari noted that though he took higher-level classes, his teachers and classmates embraced him and gave him space to pursue his interests.
"They treated me just like any other high school student," he said.
He is attending New York University on a scholarship for his bachelor's degree in math and physics.
He also plans to take his doctorate degree and become a professor someday.