12-Year-Old California Boy Has Been Accepted to Two Universities: 'I've Been Waiting for This for Quite Some Time'

Tanishq Abraham has quite the knack for understatement.

Last year, graduating with a 4.0 and three associate's degrees from American River College in California, he said, "This isn't much of a big deal to me."

This year, after learning that he'd been accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of California, Davis, he told NBC, "I'm pretty excited."

"I've been waiting for this for quite some time now," Abraham continued. "I'll finally be working on my bachelor's. It's very exciting."



• Need a little inspiration? Click here to subscribe to the Daily Smile Newsletter for uplifting, feel-good stories that brighten up your inbox.

Abraham, who plans to study bio-engineering, joined MENSA at 4 years old. He's still undecided between the two schools, though UC Santa Cruz has offered him a Regents Scholarship, the highest honor awarded to incoming student. He'll be coming in as a junior, thanks to his credits from American River, but he's not necessarily worried about fitting in with older students. "Based on my experiences with ARC, at first, they're a little confused. But once they get used to me, they don't treat that differently," he said. "We're all just friends and have fun."

In his spare time, Abraham enjoys Twitter and playing video games with his sister Tiara, 10, who also happens to be something of a prodigy. She's a fellow MENSA member who sang at Carnegie Hall in 2015.

For Tanishqh, the sky's the limit: He's given a TEDx Talk, spoken at a NASA conference and been interviewed by Conan O'Brien. His future plans include a doctorate, some time as a medical researcher, and eventually, the Presidency of the United States.

"I think if he puts his mind to it, he can achieve whatever he wants," father Bijou Abraham told NBC News. We're inclined to agree.