13-year-old Taiwanese Chiang Ching-liang (江璟亮) is admitted by New York University and becomes the youngest student of NYU 13-year-old Taiwanese Chiang Ching-liang (江璟亮) is admitted by New York University and becomes the youngest student of NYU (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 13-year-old Taiwanese student was recently accepted by New York University and University of California, Santa Cruz, becoming the youngest student of NYU.

Chiang Ching-liang (江璟亮), who just turned 13 at the end of 2016, sets the record of being the first Taiwan-educated junior high student to have been admitted to a top-level university in the world.

Chiang's great intellectual ability has shown in various fields. He started to learn piano at the age of 6 and has won numerous awards in competitions worldwide. He was also certified by U.K.-based Mensa International with an IQ of 160 at the age 8.

He then passed the Cambridge English Exams for university level at 9 and the TOEFL's Paper-Based Test with a score of 627 at 10, the youngest person to do so in Asia.

Chiang appreciates NYU for making an exception and accepting him. The university has agreed to postpone his enrollment one year and let him complete six advanced placement (AP) subjects, of which he has already finished four.

Chiang said he would like to devote himself to the rare disorders research in the future, combining with his interest in music. That is why he chose NYU, which has both medical school and music department.