NEW BRUNSWICK — Owen Ford followed closely as his professor placed a vial filled with liquid in a hydrometer — an instrument that measures the salinity of water.

"Dr. Ward, you’ll need a couple more drops in that," Owen told him. William Ward, a biochemistry professor at Rutgers University, nodded to his student, whom he called one of the most brilliant he has come across in his 34 years as a science educator.

But Owen, who turned 11 earlier this month, is not just a promising scientist. He was also one of the youngest students enrolled in a credit-granting, college-level class offered to students 16 and older as part of Rutgers’ summer scholars program.

Owen, who lives in Skillman, needed special permission to enroll in the three-week class, which ended yesterday. So did Lillien Moore, 10, and Georgette Burrell, 9. They were the youngest students in a program that has increasingly attracted young talent. For these gifted children — all home-schooled — the class was a rare opportunity to learn science at their level and be challenged by intellectual peers.

Of the 99 students in Rutgers’ summer scholar classes in New Brunswick, the majority were high school juniors and seniors. But 27 were under 16.

The youngest students were among the most enthusiastic and active in class, instructors said.

"We are studying samples of rachistoma," Georgette, of Asbury Park, said recently, offering to spell the word — the scientific name for a kind of jellyfish.

Georgette said she discovered science after a cousin suffered a brain injury. She wants to attend Rutgers "in a couple years" and become a doctor.

"I don’t really like playing. I like doing educational stuff. It’s just me," she said. "I think I’m ready for college."

Shweta Ravichandar, 16, a Plainsboro senior who took the class to prepare for college, looked at her young lab partner with amazement.

"When I was 9, I was playing with Barbies," she said. "I’m jealous of how much Georgette knows."

Owen, Lillien and Georgette didn’t excel only because they are smart. Being younger also helps the scientific process, their instructors say.

"Younger kids aren’t afraid to talk, even if it’s not the correct answer," said Mischael Metelus, 23, of Somerset, a recent Rutgers graduate and an assistant teacher in the class. "As you get older, you are taught to keep quiet and only open your mouth if you are sure about something."

Ward, who teaches the same material to hundreds of undergraduates, finds children are better able to engage in critical thinking.

"It’s a combination of being smart and not being inhibited," Ward said. "Socialization works against them."

The Rutgers summer program offers a taste of college life in a sheltered environment. But young students and their parents are learning to strike a balance between the children’s unusual talents and their age.

"Most schools lock a child into their age and can’t see beyond that," said Michele Burrell, Georgette’s mother.

Burrell said she didn’t realize her only daughter’s intelligence was "abnormal" until she got to school. Georgette skipped from the first to the third grade, but still couldn’t find a match to her curiosity, her mother said.

Burrell, who runs a dance school, said she had no choice but to pull her daughter out of school. And while Georgette loved being around "the big kids" for the summer, her mother doesn’t worry she is growing up too fast.

"She is having the school experience, she is not out partying," Burrell said.

The children have mixed feelings about college.

Lillien, who lives in Maryland but stayed with her grandmother in Long Valley while attending the class, is working on her first publication in a scientific journal — for grown-ups — with a mentor several decades her senior.

"I like having intellectual peers," Lillien said seriously. "If I could go to college next year, I would."

Owen disagreed. While calling himself "a science wackjob," he is in no rush to grow up and proudly showed his notebook. He had sketched out a Harry Potter-inspired plan to add wings to the bus that took the class on a field trip to collect jellyfish specimens in Cape May.

"I’m gonna go to college when I’m old enough for college," Owen said, "I still want to be with my toys, my dog and my TV."

Owen became grim when he talks about being a gifted child. He said he hated being in school and was often bullied for using sophisticated words. But he lightened up while talking about what he loves best — science. And being a kid.

"Sadly, being a scientist doesn’t get you much money, and I want a sports car," Owen said. "But I do want to win a Nobel Prize and those come with a $1 million cash reward. So problem solved."