WHEN JALAAL HAYES of North Philadelphia applied to a doctoral program in applied chemistry, even the admissions staff at Delaware State University did a double take.
Hayes was but 18.
Surely he had mistakenly checked the box next to graduate school. His application was dispatched to the undergraduate division.
Eventually, it came back.The teenager, who had graduated from high school at 15, and from college at 18 – with two bachelor’s degrees, no less – knew exactly what he was doing.
And last month he made a bit of history.
At 22, Hayes became the youngest student to earn a doctorate at the Dover school since the 124-year-old historically black university began granting Ph.D.s in 2004.