Teen Graduates Law School at 18 With Top Honors

Most kids James Chilimigras' age are just entering college, while he's now a freshly minted lawyer. The 18-year-old from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has graduated with highest honors from Loyola University New Orleans' College of Law, which says he's likely the youngest law grad in Louisiana history and among the youngest worldwide, per the Guardian. Chilimigras, the oldest of seven, has been racing ahead for years: He finished high school at age 12, picked up both a bachelor's and master's in accounting from the online Western Governors University by 15, then became what's believed to be the youngest certified public accountant and scored a 174 out of 180 on the LSAT.

At Loyola, Chilimigras, once described by WVUE as a "once-in-a-generation" talent, landed in the top 2% of his class, earned the highest grade in more than two-fifths of his courses, represented clients in immigration cases, and completed five legal concentrations—the latter an achievement that the school calls unprecedented there. Chilimigras, who says he "had no idea what to expect" entering law school as a younger teen—he wasn't even old enough to have a driver's license at the time, per WWL—is currently on a cruise and will next head to Chicago to pursue a master's degree in taxation at Northwestern, which he's on track to finish before turning 20.