A teenager set to graduate from Ulysses High School on May 19, 2019, will then obtain a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University on May 30, USA Today is reporting. 16-year old Braxton Moral of Ulysses, Kansas will be graduating from the Bachelor of Liberal Arts program at the Harvard Extension School, with a concentration in government and a minor in English. He began taking college courses in the seventh grade when he was only 11 years old. Moral’s mother, Julie, recalls her son being able to calculate the mathematical differences between scores during his older sibling’s volleyball games when he was only a toddler.
“When he got to school with other students, that’s when we really began to notice,” Julie said. “The teachers all said that he needed to be challenged.”
Moral began to take advanced reading and English classes in second grade and had to be bussed to a different school in third grade to take advanced English and math classes. He went on to skip fourth grade entirely, and didn’t learn any new math in fifth grade because “there wasn’t really even math he could take.” After Moral’s parents took the boy for testing at a local community college, it was discovered that he was more advanced than the average college freshman. The Duke University Talent Identification Program then recommended that he take university-level courses.
Had a chance to meet with Braxton Moral in my office yesterday. This impressive young man is about to graduate from @Harvard at the age of 16! He wants to be a public servant and I encouraged him to do so. We’re proud to call him one of Kansas’ own! #ksleg pic.twitter.com/y1KOMFXsRP
— Dr. Jeff Colyer (@DrJeffColyer) March 7, 2018
After Moral sent transcripts and a letter of intent to Harvard, the school required that he take placement tests and three classes before being admitted. He rose to the challenge and was accepted, resulting in him taking online classes until his junior year of high school, where he then got to take classes at the school’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts over the summer. The tuition for the 2018-2019 school year is a whopping $54,400, and Moral doesn’t qualify for financial aid as he does not have a high school diploma. Fortunately, Harvard is paying for half of his tuition, and his parents have taken out Sallie Mae private loans as well. Moral is looking forward to being accepted to law school next.
“If I get into the law school, I can graduate when I’m 20, while the average age to get into law school is 27,” he said. “So, I always have that age boost.”
Aside from his startling intellect, Moral isn’t that different from your average teenager. He claims to have more free time than one would expect with his intense schooling, and in his spare time likes to play video games, watch movies, and practice martial arts.
