An 8-year-old boy with dreams of becoming a judge has passed a law school entrance exam -- shocking Brazil's legal profession and prompting a federal investigation.

The Universidade Paulista, a multi-campus private university, issued a statement acknowledging that Joao Victor Portellinha de Oliveira had passed the entrance exam and that it initially enrolled him. But he was turned away from classes when he showed up on Thursday with his father.

The school said that the fifth grader has to graduate from high school before he can enter the university.

The university said one of its employees erred in accepting Oliveira's enrollment and said it would return his fees to the family.

"I think they should have been more considerate," the boy's mother, Maristela, told the UOL news Web site. "At least they should've allowed him to visit the college's facilities."

The Brazilian Bar Association said the boy's achievement should be a warning about the low standards of some of the nation's law schools.