13-year-old becomes youngest student on Georgia Tech’s campus

“I just want to say welcome,” said Avila, flanked by her friend, Lucia Touma, 18, a first-year student. “It’s a very friendly place. The students are nice. I hope you like it here.”

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

At most colleges and universities, much of the attention is typically on the star football player or the basketball standout, often easy to spot by his or her height. It’s a little different at Georgia Tech this fall semester. Much of the focus is on Caleb, who began his first day of classes Monday as a full-time student where he’s studying aerospace engineering. Caleb, a lanky lad who said he had a recent growth spurt to 5 feet, 4 inches, became a teenager just two weeks ago.

Caleb’s parents and Georgia Tech officials are trying to create some normalcy for the school’s youngest student, but that will take some time. Several students have greeted Caleb, with similar welcomes and warm smiles, behind their face masks.

“He’s a face everyone knows around here,” Touma said. “I just can’t imagine what it’s like for him at his age.”

Reporters have converged on the campus, eager to hear Caleb’s first impressions about being at Georgia Tech, considered one of the nation’s best and most academically challenging public universities. Georgia Tech accepted just one-third of the in-state students who applied to study there this school year.

“It really feels like home to me,” Caleb told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

He’s fascinated by the labs, learning about equipment he’s never used before. But as for the attention, Caleb, a reserved young man who searches for the right words before speaking, said “this is so weird.”

Georgia Tech officials are unsure if Caleb is the youngest student ever, but he’s certainly one of the youngest in recent memory. Young students like Caleb are rare, but not entirely unique, on college campuses in Georgia. Martin Luther King Jr. was 15 when he became a freshman at nearby Morehouse College in 1944. More recently, Sydney Wilson made headlines when she enrolled at Spelman College two years ago at the age of 14.

Caleb, who is from Marietta, raced through advanced classes at the now-closed Shreiner Academy when he was a toddler. An IQ test cemented what his parents knew: Caleb is supremely smart. He enrolled at Chattahoochee Technical College two years ago, saying he needed a tougher academic challenge than the private schools he attended. Thousands of Georgia high school students participate each year in the state’s program that allows them to take some college courses.

Caleb expressed his desire to attend Georgia Tech last year, drawing immediate interest from its president, Ángel Cabrera. He wanted to attend the school because it’s close to home (his two younger siblings didn’t want him to leave the Atlanta area) and he believes the school’s aerospace program is top-notch.

Administrators saw his potential, although he hasn’t taken the SAT. Georgia Tech, which is part of the University System of Georgia, waived its test score requirements for fall 2021 admission due to uncertainty about the scheduling of SAT/ACT testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caleb had a high grade-point average at Chattahoochee Tech and he carried over 57 credits. Georgia Tech officials believe he can handle the coursework.

One challenge Caleb’s family faced was financing his education. He was too young to receive any of the state’s merit-based educational scholarships, his family explained. Comedian and radio/television personality Steve Harvey offered to help pay for his education, which he’s done through his foundation. Caleb, who met Harvey, said he’s “grateful for everything he’s done for me.”

Caleb is a commuter student and his parents are driving him to campus, about a 30-minute commute. Georgia Tech has set aside space on campus for his father to work while his son takes classes. Caleb will be bringing lunch from home, his mom said.

Caleb is taking 12 credits this semester. He hopes to earn his bachelor’s degree in two to three years. His plan is to get his master’s degree at Georgia Tech and then, by age 18, pursue his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He wants to work for SpaceX or start his own company. He also wants to provide similar educational opportunities for young people like himself.

Georgia Tech’s youngest student was surprised — and a little nervous because of the COVID-19 pandemic — by the size of one class, which was more than 100 students. He wears a mask indoors and scrubbed his fingers and palms with hand sanitizer before leaving one campus building Wednesday.

Caleb said he has interest in a couple of clubs on campus and getting back into fencing. The campus, which has about 40,000 students, is a little daunting. Caleb briefly got lost Tuesday, which made him about 15 minutes late for a class, but he found his way.

The school has arranged for two students in the aerospace engineering program to mentor him. He believes mentors, along with parental support, are critical for anyone his age considering a similar academic path.

“There is no way you can do this on your own,” he said.

Georgia Tech’s first-year students

It’s hard getting in Georgia Tech as an undergraduate student. The school received more than 45,000 applications last year. It admitted about one-third of applicants from Georgia. Just 14% of out-of-state applicants were admitted. The average grade-point average for first-year students last year was a 3.82 on a 4.0 scale, and 99% of those in-state, first-year students receive one of Georgia’s merit-based scholarships.