16-Year-Old Graduates College—Before High School

Grace Bush used dual enrollment program to finish early
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 8, 2014 9:30 AM CDT
16-Year-Old Graduates College—Before High School
Grace Bush is heading for her master's degree ... at 16.   (Shutterstock)

As a toddler, Grace Bush sat on her mother's lap while she " read to her every day for a few minutes so I could move on to do what I needed to do with my other" eight kids, Gisla Bush tells Reuters. Then at age 2, " I saw her reading by herself and from that point on she did everything her other sisters did." But Gisla Bush knew she couldn't afford to send them all to college. So she encouraged her kids—all of whom she home-schooled—to use a dual enrollment program to earn college credit in high school and save thousands in tuition costs. And that's just what Grace did. "I started when I was 13 at Broward College and I also took my classes throughout the summer, so I was able to finish it before four years," the Florida teen tells CBS Miami. Now 16, she graduated from Florida Atlantic University last Friday, and gets her high school diploma tomorrow.

"It's kind of weird that I graduated college before high school," says Grace, who nabbed a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in just three years with a 3.8 grade point average. But she's not the only one to take that route. "My two older sisters are doing it and I'm the third to do it. My oldest sister already graduated and my second-oldest sister is graduating in the summer." So what's a 16-year-old to do? Well, Grace is heading back to school in the fall to pursue a master's degree, before eventually going to law school. Her ultimate goal: "I would eventually like to become chief justice of the United States." (More geniuses stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X