At age nine William attempted to enroll at Harvard, and though the

entrance exams were not a challenge for the young intellect, he was
turned down on the basis that he was too emotionally immature for
college life. As William waited for the Harvard admissions board to
capitulate, he spent the intervening time at Tufts College correcting
mistakes in mathematicians books, perusing Einsteins theories for
possible errors, mastering foreign languages, and diligently collecting
streetcar transfer slips. He discovered that he could mentally calculate the
day of the week for any given date in the past or in the future, and he
wrote four books. When the boy prodigy reached eleven years of age in
1909, the prestigious university finally relented and accepted William as a
student.
Sidis graduated cum laude at age 16, having grown a bit introverted in
response to the sudden fame and pressure. At his graduation, he told the
gathered newspapermen, I want to live the perfect life. The only way to
live the perfect life is to live it in seclusion. I have always hated crowds.
He began a lifelong policy of vigorously rejecting sex, art, music, or
anything else that would distract him from the pursuit of pure knowledge.
William briefly taught mathematics at Rice University in Houston, but he
resigned when it became apparent that his age and fame were inescapable
distractions to the students. He went back to Harvard for a short time to
pursue a law degree, but dropped out when he found that the law did not
suit him.