-------------------------- N E W S R E L E A S E ---------------------------- Auburn University - University Relations (334) 844-9999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8/11/95 Mitch Emmons BROTHERS, 12 AND 15, ENROLL AS FULL-TIME AU STUDENTS AUBURN -- Brothers Barun and Bhuwan Singh of Montgomery will be among the hundreds of new Auburn University freshman arriving on campus this fall, but they'll stand out from the masses. Twelve-year-old Barun and 15-year-old Bhuwan will make history by becoming the youngest full-time students ever admitted under Auburn's early admissions policy. "We've had dual enrollments before by high schoolers taking college courses, but those students were still high school students," says Grant Davis, acting director of admissions. "This definitely is a first." The Singh brothers' history-making enrollment started last June, says their mother, Dr. Madhuri Singh, a physician at the Veterans Administration hospital in Tuskegee. "The boys were getting bored in school, so we began looking for programs that would keep them motivated." she said, noting that academic talent is a family trait. "Their father has a Ph.D in chemical engineering," she said. "He finished college at the top of his class and completed high school at age 14," said Mrs. Singh. "We also have a daughter who is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University on full academic scholarship who was valedictorian of her senior class." Mrs. Singh said that although their daughter also showed signs of boredom with high school, she continued with the "normal" educational route. With the boys, however, boredom in school meant too much time for mischief-making. "We never wanted to push them into something like this," she said. "We want them to develop socially as well as academically, but we believe college will present them with the academic challenge they need now." Bhuwan, who scored 35 out of 36 points possible on the American College Test (ACT) and 1490 out of 1600 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), will be in AU's Honors Program. He will take a 19-hour course load that includes chemistry, biology, calculus, a creativity and problem solving course through the Honors Lyceum series and the Human Odyssey. "I'll just be a regular freshman," said Barun, who scored 1220 on the SAT. Barun will take a 13-hour course load that includes college algebra, pre-calculus and trigonometry, history and theater. Both brothers plan to become electrical engineers, and recently participated in AU's Camp War Eagle -- an orientation program for incoming freshmen. Bhuwan completed 10th grade last year under Sidney Lanier High School's Lanier Academic Motivational Program, Montgomery's magnet school program for gifted students. "Everyone in the 11th and 12th grade in LAMP takes college-equivalent courses anyway . . . they also can get college credit for them," he said. "Rather than do that, I just wanted to go on to college. A lot of my classmates in LAMP are leaving for other things this year, anyway." Barun, who was in seventh grade at Montgomery's Baldwin Junior High School and taking math courses beyond his grade level, participated successfully in an advanced program for high schoolers this summer at Tuskegee University. "It was only after he did so well in that program that we decided he was ready, too," Mrs. Singh said. Both boys, who like soccer and tennis and hold second-degree black belts in karate, have school chums they say they will miss. But both say they are ready for the challenge of college. "I already know a lot of people from Camp War Eagle that I'll have class with," Barun said. "I felt strange about it at first, but not now. I'm ready." "I'm not nervous," Mrs. Singh said. "I'm pleased and very happy." While the Singhs look for a new home in Auburn, Mrs. Singh will commute with her sons from Montgomery each day. "Bhuwan will get his drivers license in November," she said. "Then he can drive them." # # # aug95:AU-brothers (EDITORS NOTE: Mrs. Singh requests that all queries about her sons be directed to the Auburn University Office of University Relations. :CONTACT: Mitch Emmons, 334/844-9999 emmonmb@mail.auburn ) 8/11/95 Mitch Emmons (emmonmb@mail.auburn.edu) FACT SHEET ON BHUWAN AND BARUN SINGH Bhuwan Singh: Age 15 Attended Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery; was in the Lanier Academic Motivational Program for gifted students. Scored 35 out of 36 on American College Test (ACT) and 1490 out of a possible 1600 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT). Enrolling this fall in Auburn University's Honors Program; will take a 19-hour course load and hopes to finish his bachelors degree in three years. Extracurricular activities include soccer, tennis, and karate (holds second-degree black belt). Degree program selected at AU: Electrical Engineering. Barun Singh Age 12 Attended Baldwin Junior High School in Montgomery. Scored 1220 out of a possible 1600 on SAT. Enrolling this fall as AU's youngest ever full-time student under the early admissions policy; will take a 13-hour course load. Plans to pursue a graduate degree after completing the bachelors program. Extracurricular activities include soccer, tennis, and karate (holds second-degree black belt). Degree program selected at AU: Electrical Engineering. Family Information Mother is an MD; father holds a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering Mr. and Mrs. Singh are natives of India. Singh moved to United States in 1978. Mrs. Singh followed one year later. Moved to Montgomery in 1991 from Pittsburg, Pa. Plan to relocate to Auburn. # # # aug95:AU-brothers-facts