A 13-year-old boy from Long Island, New York, is preparing to take another extraordinary step in his academic journey after being accepted into a master’s programme at New York University.
Joe Petraro-Hyppolite, who has an IQ of 168, is currently completing his undergraduate degree and is expected to graduate in May 2027 before moving on to the NYU master’s programme.
The teenager has already achieved several academic milestones that are unusual even among high-achieving students, including scoring 1,590 on the SAT at just 10 years old and earning his high school diploma when he was 11.
Petraro-Hyppolite has also studied at Louisiana State University and currently attends classes alongside students who are considerably older than him, a situation that has often attracted surprised reactions from his classmates.
His next academic destination will be New York University, where he has been accepted into a master’s programme in sports management with additional academic interests involving kinesiology and biology.
Speaking about the opportunity, Petraro-Hyppolite acknowledged that moving into another advanced stage of education comes with some nervousness, but said he was also excited about the new opportunities ahead.
Despite his extraordinary academic record, the teenager said his abilities do not mean that everything comes naturally to him, explaining that he still has to learn and understand material before mastering it.
His mother, Anne Petraro-Hyppolite, described his academic progression as surreal, particularly because his educational journey previously included placement in special education classes after he was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.
According to his mother, Joe has a strong appetite for learning and approaches new knowledge with exceptional enthusiasm, which she said has been a defining feature of his development.
Beyond academics, the teenager also spends some of his time volunteering at a nursing home in the Five Towns area of Long Island, where he helps residents with everyday activities such as getting home safely.
His interests also extend beyond his current academic programme, as he has expressed a long-term ambition to pursue a career in palaeontology.
The combination of his age and academic progress means Petraro-Hyppolite is on course to complete a master’s degree while still very young, with his expected graduation potentially occurring around the same period he becomes legally eligible to drive.
His journey also highlights how advanced academic ability can develop alongside experiences that are not always visible from grades and test scores, including navigating different educational environments and adapting to classrooms filled with much older students.
For Petraro-Hyppolite, however, the focus appears to remain firmly on learning and what comes next, with the teenager already looking beyond his upcoming master’s degree toward a future career in palaeontology.
His story has attracted attention not simply because of his reported IQ, but because of the series of academic milestones he has reached years ahead of the conventional educational timeline.
As he prepares for NYU, Petraro-Hyppolite will continue an academic journey that began with extraordinary early achievements and is now opening another major chapter at one of New York’s leading universities.