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Agence France-Presse

If you’re not already feeling old this may provide a little nudge - a 12-year-old Indonesian boy will start university classes in Canada Thursday with peers almost twice his age.
Cendikiawan (Diki) Suryaatmadja will study physics and take additional classes in math, chemistry and economics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, school officials said.
The boy genius reportedly applied after fast-tracking through school in his home country, learning English by watching movies.
Diki is the youngest student ever to enrol at Waterloo, one of Canada’s top schools, admissions staff said.
But he’s not alone in his achievement.
He is among a growing number of smart youngsters eager to begin higher education in North America.
South of the border, Cornell University in New York welcomed 12-year-old freshman Jeremy Shuler this week.
And a cursory look at enrolment statistics over the past century shows the age bar falling lower and lower.
However, American Michael Kearney, born in 1984, remains the youngest ever to have graduated with a college degree at age eight, studying anthropology. He went on obtain degrees and a doctorate in chemistry and taught college while still a teenager.
Waterloo admissions staff told Canadian media that age did not factor into their decision to admit Diki, who they said has one of the best academic records of anyone accepted at the school this year.
“He had phenomenal grades,” Andre Jardin, associate registrar of admissions, told broadcaster CTV. “He’s fully prepared academically. What we have to address is the fact that he is a 12-year-old boy.”
Diki, meanwhile, told public broadcaster CBC that he was “very excited to meet the new students and make new friends.”
He said he would like to apply what he learns in the field of renewable energy.
While in Canada, he will live with his father in an apartment near campus, and says he is looking forward to learning how to ice skate.


This 12-year-old university student in Canada might make you feel old, stupid or both (and he’s not alone)

Diki Suryaatmadja, 12, will study physics and take additional classes in math, chemistry and economics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Photo: CBC

In this Friday, Aug. 26, 2016 photo, Jeremy Shuler, 12, a freshman at Cornell University, poses with his parents Andy and Harrey, on campus in Ithaca, N.Y. He’s the youngest student on record to attend the Ivy League school. Jeremy’s parents, who are both aerospace engineers, moved from Grand Prairie, Texas, to Ithaca, New York, so he could live with them while pursuing his engineering degree. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

In this Friday, Aug. 26, 2016 photo, Jeremy Shuler, 12, a freshman at Cornell University, poses on campus in Ithaca, N.Y. He’s the youngest student on record to attend the Ivy League school. Jeremy’s parents, who are both aerospace engineers, moved from Grand Prairie, Texas, to Ithaca, New York, so he could live with them while pursuing his engineering degree. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

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