14-Year-Old Girl Becomes The Youngest Admitted to Spelman College

Georgia teen, Sydney Wilson, will begin her freshman year at Spelman College in the fall, making history as the youngest student on campus.

For Wilson, who turned 14 earlier this month, academic achievement is nothing new. According to Fox 5, the young scholar was doing algebra in the first grade and began taking high school classes at Wilson Academy, a private institution founded by her father, when she was only ten-years-old.

Now that she’s graduated with honors and as class Valedictorian, she’ll be heading to the school of her dreams, Spelman,!which has been Wilson’s only choice since she was eight-years-old.

“I had taken a college tour then, and the women around me seemed so independent and strong. It really inspired me,” Wilson said. “Now I’m really excited and nervous. It’s obviously something new for me, but the Spelman girls have been really nice and welcoming. I’m excited to see the experience I’ll have.”

While the straight-A student’s journey to college is exciting to see, there have been moments that Wilson struggled with acceptance with from her peers. At times, Wilson would be surrounded by students much older than her, who found ways to ostracize her because of her age and love for learning.

“It was hard, but I just sort of came to understand that people aren’t going to be as accepting of me and I’ve come to be OK with the fact that people aren’t going to be as open-minded,” she said.

“I just stayed on my path,” Wilson added. “I didn’t really feel like I needed to be popular … because, I mean, I like myself.” 

Despite her age, Wilson has every intention of having the “full” college experience at the historic HBCU. She plans on staying on campus in Atlanta and majoring in Biology. Wilson is looking forward to partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine, in hopes of curing different diseases through animal science.

According to Spelman staff, Wilson is the youngest student to enroll, in “recent memory.”

“This is the first time in recent memory that we have had an admitted student this young. Sydney has shared with us that she intends to enroll. We are excited to welcome her to campus in the fall, along with the rest of the incoming class,” Vice President of Enrollment Management, Ingrid Hayes said.

As Wilson joins the class of 2023, she is simply excited to be a part of the sense of sisterhood, Spelman has to offer.