Zach Yadegari, an 18-year-old public school student from Roslyn, New York, was ahead from the beginning. He began coding at the age of 7, charged $30 per hour for lessons by 10, and owned an app in the App Store by 12. In his junior year, Yadegari created Cal AI. This app determines a meal’s calorie content just by taking a picture. The app now generates tens of millions a year.
Even with a 4.0 GPA and a 34 on the ACT, Zach had been rejected by 15 of the 18 schools he applied to, including the most prestigious institutions in the country. He was turned down by Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, MIT, Duke, Brown, Cornell, NYU, Vanderbilt, the University of Virginia, USC, and Washington University in St. Louis.
On X (formerly Twitter), he posted a breakdown of acceptance and rejection results. He was accepted by only Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, and the University of Miami.
“I didn’t expect to be accepted to all of these colleges. However, I did expect to at least be accepted to a couple of the top schools I was applying to,” said Zach. “I think that entrepreneurial accomplishments may not be fully appreciated.” “I held out hope for Stanford, but then when I opened their rejection letter, all of the prior rejections just flooded in and really hit me at once,” he added.
Using his flair for entrepreneurship, Zach wrote back to the Ivy League Institutions that denied him. He delivered a message saying the admissions council has no appreciation for entrepreneurial leaders like him.
In his college essay, Zach reflected,
“I began my own journey fiercely independent, determined to forge my own path. Now, I see that individuality and connection are not opposites, but complements … In this next chapter, I want to learn from humans — both professors and students — not just from computers or textbooks.”
And then delivered a powerful, impactful conclusion,
“The college admissions system isn’t broken—it’s working exactly as designed… The student that runs fake clubs and stacks extracurriculars is admitted over the student that runs a real business… Make Admissions Fair Again.”
Zach’s open letter triggered controversy online. According to some people, his sense of entitlement to the quality of his college essay may have caused him to be rejected by the universities. One even questioned his motivation to attend college when his accomplishments were already greater than those of many full-time professionals.
However, a few others were encouraging towards Zach, saying, “ Any institution would be lucky to have you,” and “Chin-up, Zach. Consider yourself lucky to have dodged the bullet of so-called elite universities. @GeorgiaTech produces top engineers and entrepreneurs. Hit me up if you chose Atlanta as your home for the next 4 years. Bonus: vibrant #chabad community.”
Surprisingly, but fittingly, Zach decided to attend the University of Miami. However, he isn’t sure he will finish all four years.
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