A 12-year-old boy from Cuernavaca, Morelos, will become the youngest ever degree-level student at the prestigious National Autonomous University (UNAM) after being admitted to the faculty of sciences.

Carlos Santamaría Díaz will begin a biomedical physics degree next week, UNAM said in a statement, after achieving a score of 105 out of 120 on his entrance examination.

The university said that Carlos “is a student of high cognitive ability” who “has defied time and administrative conventions.”

The budding scientist already has a diploma in biochemistry and molecular biology from the same university, which he completed at the age of nine.

Asked how he prepared to achieve his goal of entering university at such a young age, Carlos said that he always adopts a can-do attitude.

“I also studied on the internet, that’s how I’ve learned biology and calculus but you also need the support of your whole family, [that’s the] most important thing. My parents have done more than me, they’ve prepared everything and I just study and pass the exams. I put in the last little bit to move on to the next thing,” he explained.

“I just want to study. If they close the doors, I’ll go in through the windows,” Carlos said.

Biomedical physics graduates usually go on to careers in the medical research sector where they may focus on areas such as the early detection of diseases or the development of new medical treatments.

Carlos already has his university ID card and said he is looking forward to starting a new stage in his life but added, “I don’t want to have expectations because it’s almost always different.”

While he is well beyond his years in terms of education, Carlos still enjoys a pursuit common among many others his age: video games.

“Mario Bros is still a classic, the base for everything. I’d like to make a video game, I’ve worked on one, I had to stop for a while but I’ve been working on one about biochemistry . . .”

Source: El Financiero (sp), Proceso (sp)