Rejected by Stanford, Harvard, MIT: 18-year-old CEO with $30M startup, 4.0 GPA sparks online debate

Zach Yadegari, an 18-year-old entrepreneur running a $30 million startup, has sparked a wave of online debate after revealing he was rejected by several Ivy League colleges—including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale—despite a 4.0 GPA, a 34 ACT score, and a résumé that includes founding a high-revenue tech company.

In a post on X that has received up 10 million views, Yadegari, CEO of the nutrition tracking app Cal AI, listed the prestigious schools that turned him down. He also noted he had been accepted to Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, and the University of Miami.

The rejections left many baffled. “Wow this is so insane. Also just curious what’s your main motivation to still go to college when you’ve already done more than a lot of full time professionals?” one user asked. Yadegari replied, “My motivation of going to college is just to have a social life.”

Another commenter said, “Insanity, any institution would be lucky to have you. The admissions officer reading your app was probably jealous.” Others questioned whether his tone or application essay influenced the outcome. Some even suspected “entitlement” may have hurt his chances.

In response, Yadegari shared his college essay online. The statement detailed his journey—from teaching himself coding at age seven, to earning $30/hour giving lessons at 10, launching a $60,000-a-year gaming website at 14, and exiting a six-figure business by 16. He also explained his decision to skip traditional high school and move to San Francisco to build Cal AI.

But the essay drew mixed reviews. One user commented, “Look man, your essay was worse than the ones that rich parents pay to have written for their kids. Also, they want leadership: building a business that impacts millions of people is nothing compared to saying you created a fake charity."

Another user backed this argument by saying, "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."