Introducing Zach Yadegari, an 18-year-old Millionaire who was Turned Down by Stanford, Yale, and Harvard

Zach Yadegari, an 18-year-old entrepreneur, has disclosed that he was turned down by prestigious Ivy League schools as well as other prestigious American universities. He took to X to share the names of all the universities that turned him down and the select few that accepted him. He is the creator and CEO of Cal AI, a nutrition tracking software. The millionaire from New York was unable to gain admission to several of the best universities in the United States, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, and MIT. His applications were rejected despite having a multimillion-dollar corporation and an outstanding academic record. As he described himself in the post, he claimed to have a 4.0 GPA and an ACT score of 34. At the moment, his startup brings in around $30 million a year, or about INR 3 crores. Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale, WashU, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Duke, USC, UVA, NYU (New York University), Brown, Vanderbilt, and Cornell were among the universities that denied Zach Yadegari entrance. He did, however, succeed in getting accepted to the University of Miami, the University of Texas, and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).

Yadegari Started Coding from the Age of 7

Yadegari also revealed his college admissions essay in the follow-up piece. In his post, he acknowledged that at first he thought further education was unnecessary. He disclosed that he began learning to code at the age of 7 and released his first application at the age of 12. He built a six-figure internet gaming business at the age of sixteen. He continued by outlining his decision to move to San Francisco to establish Cal AI, forgoing formal schooling in favour of practical experience. With millions of dollars in revenue, the software that tracked calories from food photos using AI swiftly rose to the top in its category. He started to feel that something was lacking even though he was financially successful and surrounded by mentors and investors who supported the notion that he didn't need education. "I realised in college that it's more than just a rite of passage," Yadegari continued. "College serves as a means of elevating the work I have consistently produced," he added. He intended to learn from people in this new stage, not simply from computers or textbooks.

Social Media Posts went Viral

Users were shocked by the low acceptance rate as soon as the post went viral on the internet. But some criticised his bad college admissions essay and entitlement. One commenter said that after reading Yadegari's personal statement, he could see why several prestigious universities could have rejected his application. "You opened with a strong stance against college, and while your change of heart is compelling, the essay doesn’t quite answer the natural follow-up questions," noted the person who commented.