Admitted at eleven
In 2018 WAFB, the Baton Rouge television station, reported an 11-year-old prodigy accepted into the Southern University Honors College. Southern is a historically Black university and the flagship of a statewide system. WBRZ covered him starting classes; ABC13 in Houston picked up the story of an 11-year-old physics major; the New York Amsterdam News carried it to readers in January 2019.
The scholarship mattered as much as the admission. A full award meant the family was not paying for an experiment, and it meant the university had committed institutional resources to a child rather than merely permitting him to attend.
Physics, mathematics and a laboratory
He did not simply take courses. He worked on carbon nanotubes, the cylindrical carbon structures used in materials research, and on self-repairing concrete, a field concerned with building materials that can seal their own cracks. Both are applied research problems rather than textbook exercises.
That combination, one at the scale of nanometres and one at the scale of bridges, tells you something about how his programme was arranged: he was placed with working researchers and given real problems, not kept in a lecture hall as a curiosity.
Graduating at seventeen
In December 2024 The Advocate reported that Southern University's youngest graduate had his diploma, with degrees in physics and mathematics. He was 17. The research record used for this page notes he may also be the youngest university graduate in Louisiana's history, a claim that is plausible but that no source here certifies.
The same reporting recorded what he said was next: further study, possibly in biology. That is the most recent documented statement of his intentions.
Baton Rouge, and the family behind it
His parents, Steve and Pamela Precciely, are named in the coverage of his admission. Beyond that, the reporting says little about the household, which is appropriate: he was a child of 11 when the cameras arrived and 17 when they returned.
What can be said is that six years passed between the two stories, and that Southern kept him enrolled and funded for all of them. Early-admission cases fail more often than they are reported to; this one did not.
What a six-year record looks like
Most early-college coverage captures a single moment, usually the admission, and stops. The value of Precciely's record is that it has both ends. A local station covered the arrival in 2018. A statewide newspaper covered the departure, with a diploma, in December 2024. The interval is documented by nothing more dramatic than continued enrolment, which is exactly what makes it convincing.
Physics is also an unforgiving field to test a claim in. Coursework at degree level requires mathematics that cannot be faked or accelerated by enthusiasm, and a university awarding two degrees in physics and mathematics is making a statement about demonstrated competence, not about promise. For a student who walked in at 11, that is the strongest available evidence, stronger than any test score, that the acceleration was real.
Watch: Elijah Precciely on camera
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elijah Precciely | United States | Entering Southern University at 11 on a full scholarship; its youngest… | Age 11 |
| Viemens Bamfo | Ghana | Admitted to the University of Ghana at 12 (2019) | Age 12 |
| Yahya Elnajaar | Egypt | He was still in grade six when Egypt's science university admitted him | Age 12 |
| Dafne Almazán | Mexico | Completing a psychology degree at 13 | Age 13 |
| Shania Muhammad | United States | Langston University's youngest graduate, at 15 | Age 15 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Admitted to Southern University's Honors College at 11 on a full scholarship in 2018 (WAFB, WBRZ)
- Graduated in December 2024 at 17 with physics and mathematics degrees, the university's youngest ever (The Advocate)
- Worked on carbon nanotube and self-repairing concrete research
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- The claim that he is Louisiana's youngest ever graduate is not certified by any source here
- No graduate school or employer is documented since December 2024
- No IQ figure or entrance test score is published
Questions people ask about Elijah Precciely
How old was Elijah Precciely when he started university?
Eleven. Southern University admitted him to its honours college on a full scholarship in 2018.
What did Elijah Precciely study?
Physics and mathematics. He graduated with degrees in both in December 2024.
How old was he when he graduated?
Seventeen, making him the youngest graduate in Southern University's history.
What research did he work on?
Carbon nanotubes and self-repairing concrete, both applied materials research problems.
Where is Elijah Precciely now?
The December 2024 reporting has him considering further study, possibly in biology. Nothing later is documented in the sources used here.
Is he the youngest graduate in Louisiana history?
The research record notes that as a possibility. The confirmed claim is narrower: he is Southern University's youngest graduate, per The Advocate.
Is Elijah Precciely on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article on him was found. His record rests on Louisiana broadcast coverage, The Advocate and the New York Amsterdam News.
What is Elijah Precciely's IQ?
No IQ figure for him appears in any source used here.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Elijah’s story?
How old was Elijah Precciely when he entered Southern University?
Which two degrees did he graduate with?
Which material was part of his research?
Sources
- Southern University's youngest graduate ever has his diploma. Here's what's next for him. — The Advocate, 2024-12-13
- Elijah Precciely, 11, started at Southern University, physics major — ABC13 Houston, 2019
- 11-year-old prodigy from Baton Rouge accepted to Southern University Honors College — WAFB, 2018
- Eleven-year-old prodigy studies physics at Southern University — New York Amsterdam News, 2019-01-31
- 11-year-old prodigy starts classes at Southern University — WBRZ, 2018
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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