Wednesday May 22, 2019
By Chris Jancelewicz
So you have a Master’s degree and it took you four years to attain? Or maybe you finally got that PhD after nearly a decade of school?
Try not to feel inadequate reading about 17-year-old Kansas native Braxton Moral, who is set to graduate from both high school and Harvard — yes, that Harvard — in less than a month.
Moral will graduate from Harvard Extension School on May 30, a mere 11 days after graduating from Ulysses High School in Kansas.
“I’m relieved to have a little bit of a head start,” said the fresh-faced student to Good Morning America on Tuesday. “I thought it really broadened my horizons. It helped me understand new things and what I want to do [in life].”
The ever-keen student has been taking classes at Harvard since he was 11, doing them piecemeal through the extension program, which allows students without prerequisites to take classes so long as they can prove their abilities and knowledge are at that level.
By doing it slowly, Moral has managed to complete his undergraduate degree in six years, all while completing high school. Some courses were online, while others took place on Harvard campus in Cambridge, Mass. He will receive a bachelor of liberal arts degree, with a major in government and a minor in English.
“[My friends] think I’m an absolute loser,” Moral said with a smile, adding that he enjoys “normal” teenage activities like video games and sports. “No, but they’re supportive and they don’t treat me any differently.”
Kevin McGrath, an associate professor in South Asian Studies at Harvard, described Moral as “a remarkable and unique young scholar.”
“Intellectually, he is extraordinary, but more than that, it is his discipline and endeavour which has enabled him to begin adult life with such startling success,” said McGrath on Good Morning America.
Up next? Moral wants to pursue a law degree from Columbia University.
Move over, Doogie Howser, you’ve got some competition.