By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 08:16 EST, 4 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:34 EST, 4 June 2012

A 21-year-old Chicago man who began college at age nine and medical school three years later is about to become the youngest student ever awarded an M.D. by the University of Chicago.

Sho Yano, who was reading at age two, writing at three and composing music at five, will graduate this week from the Pritzker School of Medicine, where he also received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology.

Yano earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University at age 12, finishing in three years and graduating summa cum laude, the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday.

Then and now: Sho Yano in 2000 (left) when studying at Loyola University and today (right)

The average age of students entering medical school in the U.S. is 23, and there were schools that refused Yano admittance because of his age.

School officials worried that the rigors of medical school would hinder Yano's ability to have a normal adolescence.

'I never understood that,' Yano said. 'Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging that being totally bored?'

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He's the real-life Doogie Howser! Meet the 21-year-old who started college at nine and is set to graduate from medical ...