12 year old starts medical school

[I]Or, how to feel like an idiot in comparison:[/I]

12 Year Old Heads to Medical School
AFP

May 2, 2003 — He hasn't even hit his teenage years yet, but Sho Timothy Yano is on course to fulfill his professional ambitions by the time he's 18 and perhaps make history in the process.

With one degree already under his belt, the 12-year-old has just won a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Chicago, where he will combine his medical studies with a Ph.D., the university said Thursday.

Sho is thought to be one of the youngest candidates to enroll in medical school, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

In light of his tender years, college elders have structured his studies so that he doesn't begin patient visits or clinical rotations until he's at least 18.

By then, so the thinking goes, the youngster's social skills might have caught up with his astonishing academic abilities, not that he isn't somewhat precocious in that respect also.

"Sho is remarkably thoughtful and mature in his thinking," said Gregory Dobrov, a professor in classical studies at Chicago's Loyola University, where Yano did his undergraduate degree.

"He regularly can produce reflections on questions that you'd expect to only make sense to a middle-aged person or a fully-formed adult," Dobrov told the Chicago Tribune.

Son of a Korean mother and a Japanese father, Sho enrolled in college at the tender age of nine and will graduate summa cum laude (with top honors) from Loyola later this month with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry.

Still, in spite of his nearly flawless grades, test scores and recommendations from his college teachers, the admissions panel at the University of Chicago thought long and hard before deciding to admit him.

The 12-year-old had to go through double the customary number of personal interviews with the relevant departments. He was also evaluated by a child and adolescent psychiatrist, university officials said.

Ultimately, though, the university felt it would be denying both Sho and the institution a valuable opportunity if it shut the door on him.

"We have to appreciate that he's 12 years old and he has completed college," Michelle LeBeau, who heads up the university's cancer biology program.

"He's ready to move on to the next step of his education. It's not practical for him to stay at home. What do we expect him to do?"

"At the same time, it will also be both an unusual opportunity and a significant responsibility for us, to do justice to him without altering the experience for his fellow students."

Sho is slated to start at the university next month, with a view to pursuing his ambitions to be a cancer researcher.

wow. and i thought i was young for my schooling.

poor kid:(

Isn't that amazing? On one hand its great to see people with that kind of intellegence, drive, and dedication. On the other, he is completley missing his childhood. I had alot of fun growing up, going away to college, etc. I can't imagine not having those experiences.

I do hope he's not just doing it for his parents :(.

Its neat, but he is totally missing out on the experiences that most individuals go through. Also, for a lot of people college is almost as much about developing relationships which turn into life long friendships as it is about the education. I feel that he is cutting himself off from some of the most learning experiences by doing this & denying himself the opportunity to be around peers his own age, growing w/them & developing friendships.

on the other hand, if he's that smart, it would be awful for him to stay in school. it would be impossible for him to relate to his peers, and worst of all, he'd be bored out of his mind. he'd be miserable. he'd start hating school and everyone, not taking interest, skipping, etc. he's in med school now. i don't think anyone who has the mental capacity to be in med school would want to be in grade 6, regardless of age. age is relative anyway. the development clock isn't the same for everyone.

i don't think he's missing much. just because his growing up experiences are different, doesn't mean they're less valuable, or inferior to the average person's experience.

Epinephrine - I agree with everything you said

He's obviously got some smarts that puts him in a different catagory than his so called "peers" (by age, which means little if one's mental abilities are years ahead). It is possible his idea of fun is learning and using his abilities to their limits which does not include sitting around school yards with people who are not on his plane of intelligence or interest.

The only way he can find useful friendships is to advance to find his peers at his intelligence level ... not chronological age limitations ;)

IMHO of course

I do agree, sometimes I felt a little detached from my friends (sounds weird but seriously I bothered to use my brain, most of my school friends were too lazy) and we're not talking anywhere near the "smarts" gap that this kid obviously has! But then I do think he's missing out on something as well...

Perhaps he is missing something, I agree. It would really depend on HOW mature he was. It would be apsolute TORTURE to try to make him go through school with everyone else. I don't think there is a clear cut "good" solution. It's tough being "Special." I really feel for this kid, and I thought I had it bad in Kindergarten (I was reading the Hobbit and although the teacher WATCHED me read the Hobbit she still made me fill in those stupid alphabet worksheets day after day...) If he's doing it for himself, and not to try to do what everyone else wants him to, this is probably the best.