Meet Joe Petraro-Hyppolite, the 13-year-old Long Island prodigy with a reported IQ of 168 who is set to begin a master’s programme at NYU. (Photo: Stefano Giovannini)
At just 13, Joe Petraro-Hyppolite is preparing to take a giant academic leap that most people make decades later. The Long Island teenager, who says he has an IQ of 168, has been accepted into a master’s programme at New York University and is set to begin next fall. His reported IQ is higher than the often-cited estimate of around 160 for Albert Einstein, although Einstein never had a documented IQ test.
The outlet reported that he could potentially become NYU’s youngest graduate student, although the university is verifying that distinction.
When he graduated high school so young, it was surreal, but this is … everything he does is surreal,” she said. “It’s just surreal. “He just loves to learn. He is like a sponge. His master’s studies will focus on sports management, with interests in kinesiology and biology. Outside the classroom, the teenager also spends time helping others. He recently volunteered at a Five Towns nursing home, helping residents get home safely.
At just 13, Joe Petraro-Hyppolite has already graduated high school, scored 1590 on the SAT and overcome leukemia and Tourette syndrome. (Photo: Petraro-Hyppolite Family) His academic record helps explain why he has attracted so much attention. Petraro-Hyppolite scored 1590 on the SAT at just 10 years old and graduated from high school at 11. Petraro-Hyppolite is expected to be less than half the age of the average US student beginning a master’s programme. He is currently completing his undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University and plans to graduate in May next year.
