Eustis girl starting college at age 14

DELAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Few people of any age can solve a Rubik's Cube as fast as Danielle Carson, so it might not be surprising that this 14-year-old math prodigy from Eustis is starting her freshman year at DeLand's Stetson University.

"I've always really enjoyed math. It's like a puzzle," explains Danielle.

Her mom, Mindy, says the math genius was solving college-level equations when her peers were just learning addition.

"By first grade, she was in algebra, and by second grade, she was in college algebra," Mindy says.

Mindy says she was forced to home-school Danielle, because schools didn't know what to do with her. 

"From third grade to seventh grade, no school would take her!" she says.

Then, she went to Stetson.

"It was like night and day -- to have an expert to teach her, always know the answer, always knew what she needed -- it was such a  blessing."

And it was more than just the professors who helped, but her classmates, too.

"It's really nice being with other students. I can finally get the education I'm supposed to be getting with other people," Danielle says.

She is attending Stetson on a partial scholarship.

"Whether she wants to or not, she's breaking people's stereotypes of what you can do at her age," says Lua Hancock, Vice Provost at Stetson University.  "So, I think that's a great  thing if we can be a part of that."

And she hopes to go on to M.I.T. for her Ph.D.  After that, the sky's the limit.

"Maybe engineering or physics, but I'm not really sure.  Anything math-related."

But for now, she's right where she wants to be, and she's even talked with some of her new friends about starting's Stetson's first blackjack club.