High school entrepreneur Zach Yadegari, co-founder of the popular AI calorie-tracking app Cal AI, recently went viral on X (formerly Twitter) after revealing that he was rejected by 15 out of the 18 prestigious colleges he applied to.
Despite boasting a perfect 4.0 GPA and an impressive ACT score of 34, Yadegari believes his essay was the primary reason for his rejections—an opinion echoed by countless commenters on X.
Cal AI, which reportedly generates millions in revenue with a projected annual recurring revenue of $30 million, has been downloaded over a million times and earned thousands of positive reviews. This wasn’t Yadegari’s first entrepreneurial success. He had previously sold a web gaming company for $100,000, all while teaching himself to code.
Initially, Yadegari didn’t intend to pursue college. After a summer building a prototype with his co-founder at a hacker house in San Francisco, he was set on following the well-trodden path of college dropout entrepreneurs. However, his time there made him realize he was missing out on a significant part of his young adult life.
In his application essay, Yadegari candidly described how mentors and venture capitalists had encouraged him to bypass college. But through introspection, he recognized that he had replaced one set of expectations with another: the archetype of the dropout founder. He concluded that college could help him expand his knowledge and grow beyond his current accomplishments.
Despite his achievements and ambitions, rejections from top-tier schools like Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Duke, and Cornell poured in. He was, however, accepted to Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, and the University of Miami.
Yadegari’s rejection story sparked an online debate, racking up over 38 million views, more than 5.8K retweets, and around 2.5K comments. While some criticized his essay as arrogant, others pointed to flaws within the college admissions process itself. More measured responses suggested his essay conveyed a lack of genuine passion for education as if he were still convincing himself to attend college rather than wholeheartedly embracing it.
Even Garry Tan, President and CEO of Y Combinator, shared his struggles with college rejections on X, admitting that his essays were heavily influenced by Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead—a decision he believes may have hindered his applications.
Reflecting on the viral reaction, Yadegari admits he may never fully understand why he was rejected. Yet, the experience has led him to a deeper realization: true success isn’t just about financial milestones. “Life is not just about financial success,” he remarked. “It is about relationships, and being a part of a larger community.”
