Zach Yadegari was the kind of student most universities dream of. He had top grades, a high ACT score, and had already created a business worth millions. But when college decisions arrived, reality hit hard, 15 rejection letters, including from the world’s most prestigious universities.
According to The New York Post, Yadegari had a perfect 4.0 GPA, scored 34 on the ACT, and created an app called Cal AI, which uses photos to calculate calorie content in meals. The app quickly became a success, earning over $1 million in revenue in just 30 days.
Despite this, Yadegari was rejected by 15 out of the 18 colleges he applied to: including elite schools like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Princeton. He told The New York Post, “I didn’t expect to be accepted to all of these colleges, but I thought I’d get into at least a couple of top ones.”
He shared his college essay online, where it quickly went viral with over 27 million views. In it, he wrote about his journey in tech, his doubts about capitalism, and how he still valued learning from people in a university setting. “In the rejection of the collegiate path, I had unwittingly bound myself to another framework of expectations: the archetypal dropout founder,” he wrote.
Yadegari also told New York Post that he felt colleges weren’t giving enough credit to young entrepreneurs like him. “Building a company and creating jobs should count for something, just like volunteering or doing school clubs,” he said.
He was finally accepted by Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, and the University of Miami. Online, many supported him, saying college rejections don’t define success. One person commented, “You’ve done more than most professionals, why even go to college?”
However, some also criticised him. One user said his essay made it seem like he wouldn’t finish college, while another found his tone “smug and condescending”.
Still, Yadegari remained hopeful. In his viral post, he wrote, “I want to learn from humans, professors and students, not just from computers or textbooks.”
Inputs from TOI
According to The New York Post, Yadegari had a perfect 4.0 GPA, scored 34 on the ACT, and created an app called Cal AI, which uses photos to calculate calorie content in meals. The app quickly became a success, earning over $1 million in revenue in just 30 days.
Despite this, Yadegari was rejected by 15 out of the 18 colleges he applied to: including elite schools like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Princeton. He told The New York Post, “I didn’t expect to be accepted to all of these colleges, but I thought I’d get into at least a couple of top ones.”
He shared his college essay online, where it quickly went viral with over 27 million views. In it, he wrote about his journey in tech, his doubts about capitalism, and how he still valued learning from people in a university setting. “In the rejection of the collegiate path, I had unwittingly bound myself to another framework of expectations: the archetypal dropout founder,” he wrote.
Yadegari also told New York Post that he felt colleges weren’t giving enough credit to young entrepreneurs like him. “Building a company and creating jobs should count for something, just like volunteering or doing school clubs,” he said.
He was finally accepted by Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, and the University of Miami. Online, many supported him, saying college rejections don’t define success. One person commented, “You’ve done more than most professionals, why even go to college?”
However, some also criticised him. One user said his essay made it seem like he wouldn’t finish college, while another found his tone “smug and condescending”.
Still, Yadegari remained hopeful. In his viral post, he wrote, “I want to learn from humans, professors and students, not just from computers or textbooks.”
Inputs from TOI
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