4 ms·

Not sure if it made it to hn, but the founder recently got rejected from a number of top universities, despite clear talent: https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status

by nomilk 2y ago

Not sure if it made it to hn, but the founder recently got rejected from a number of top universities, despite clear talent: https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1906859987105636667 https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1906859987105636667 https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1906888487292559531 https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1906888487292559531

throwaway314155 2y ago
Surely this sort of thing happens all the time? Not to excuse it, but I really don't think any of those rejections was intended to be the personal attack he thinks it is.
yapyap 2y ago
clear talent?
xnx 2y ago
> $30M ARR biz Unlikely
- dividuum 2y ago
  Probably pointed the Biz AI app at himself to get that estimate.
closetkantian 2y ago
I'm a college admissions consultant, and this doesn't surprise me at all. People don't realize how competitive the landscape has become. His test scores and GPA are average at the schools he applied to. Really you'd need to know how many APs he took and his AP scores to understand how colleges will treat his academic record. To me, his college list indicates that he was mostly prestige hunting. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but colleges can tell when a student wants to attend based just on branding. It comes across as if he wants to use college as a resume booster rather than as a place to grow. The essay reads as a list of accomplishments, with little self-reflection. (Side note: referencing Steve Jobs is way overdone.) Long story short, college admissions is not a VC pitch. If I had been this guy's advisor, I would have recommended he write an essay about something not related to Cal AI. Colleges will already know about the app from his activities list (and resume and, presumably, recommendation letters). There's a huge missed opportunity for him to write about something else. The essays that worked for my students this year were often about more mundane topics that gave insight into their character. One of my favorites was from a student who started giving free haircuts to classmates. The essay implicitly shows that he's thoughtful and well-liked—someone you'd definitely want in your college community.
- blitzar 2y ago
  > huge missed opportunity for him to write about something else When you are locked in and have the grindset there is nothing else.
  - closetkantian 2y ago
    If he absolutely insisted on writing about Cal AI, I would have recommended that he write more about why he was inspired to build it and the human impact. Instead, he just rattled off metrics that admissions officers will likely know from other places in his app.
    - blitzar 2y ago
      Talking about grindsets, ARR, DAU and getting up at 4:30am may be seen as good content for a twitter thread, but most grown adults cringe when they read copy and pasted fortune cookie wisdom memes. I would agree, talking about actual human stuff related to an actually interesting topic was a wasted oportunity. Nobody actually cares what the numbers on the app are, least of all admissions officers.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
- Jensson 2y ago
  > His test scores and GPA are average at the schools he applied to. Average is quite a bit above the floor though, so that just makes it sound like he should have been accepted.
  - blitzar 2y ago
    For ever 100 applicants 3 seats are available. If you are "average" amongst the pool of applicants there are 46 better people than you that won't get in either.
ksynwa 2y ago
His new statement: https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1907511557149569190 https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1907511557149569190
- sumeno 2y ago
  Ahhh this makes sense, another mediocre guy blaming minorities for his own failures
- skyyler 2y ago
  >The student that runs fake clubs and stacks extracurriculars is admitted over the student that runs a real business. Yeah. That's how it works. When you do community building and participate in activities in addition to "the grind", people like you more. This doesn't just apply to academia.
sumeno 2y ago
Clear talent at making bullshit apps that can't possibly work the way he claims maybe
xnx 2y ago
Everything about this kid sends strong signals that one would not want him at their school, workplace, or social environment.
cratermoon 2y ago
What are his talents?
enum 2y ago
I think the average American today, including the average admissions officer, has a negative view of technology. So, an application that is unequivocally optimistic about technology is unlikely to be well received. I think that that is what happened here. We also have no visibility into letters of recommendation, which are likely a big factor.
- bfeynman 2y ago
  This is an incredibly poor take - curious as to how you just completely made up that ridiculous claim? Ironic as well that you think letters of recommendation matter for college admissions when they are perfunctory for probably > 95% of them. Maybe you shouldn't espouse your opinions on this.
  - enum 2y ago
    Things like this: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/survey-americans-fear-ai-will-hurt-them-experts-expect-the-opposite/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/survey-americans... I’m also quite sure letters matter for undergraduate admissions. They certainly do at the graduate level.
    - bfeynman 2y ago
      undergrad and graduate school are completely different...?
actuallyalys 2y ago
I mean, maybe he deserved to get into more universities, but he did get into solid universities, even if they’re not at the very top. The application pool is very competitive at top universities, and I’m not sure business success should be an automatic in.

by nomilk 2y ago

throwaway314155 2y ago

Surely this sort of thing happens all the time? Not to excuse it, but I really don't think any of those rejections was intended to be the personal attack he thinks it is.

yapyap 2y ago

clear talent?

xnx 2y ago

> $30M ARR biz Unlikely

dividuum 2y ago
Probably pointed the Biz AI app at himself to get that estimate.

closetkantian 2y ago

I'm a college admissions consultant, and this doesn't surprise me at all. People don't realize how competitive the landscape has become. His test scores and GPA are average at the schools he applied to. Really you'd need to know how many APs he took and his AP scores to understand how colleges will treat his academic record. To me, his college list indicates that he was mostly prestige hunting. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but colleges can tell when a student wants to attend based just on branding. It comes across as if he wants to use college as a resume booster rather than as a place to grow. The essay reads as a list of accomplishments, with little self-reflection. (Side note: referencing Steve Jobs is way overdone.) Long story short, college admissions is not a VC pitch. If I had been this guy's advisor, I would have recommended he write an essay about something not related to Cal AI. Colleges will already know about the app from his activities list (and resume and, presumably, recommendation letters). There's a huge missed opportunity for him to write about something else. The essays that worked for my students this year were often about more mundane topics that gave insight into their character. One of my favorites was from a student who started giving free haircuts to classmates. The essay implicitly shows that he's thoughtful and well-liked—someone you'd definitely want in your college community.

blitzar 2y ago
> huge missed opportunity for him to write about something else When you are locked in and have the grindset there is nothing else.
- closetkantian 2y ago
  If he absolutely insisted on writing about Cal AI, I would have recommended that he write more about why he was inspired to build it and the human impact. Instead, he just rattled off metrics that admissions officers will likely know from other places in his app.
  - blitzar 2y ago
    Talking about grindsets, ARR, DAU and getting up at 4:30am may be seen as good content for a twitter thread, but most grown adults cringe when they read copy and pasted fortune cookie wisdom memes. I would agree, talking about actual human stuff related to an actually interesting topic was a wasted oportunity. Nobody actually cares what the numbers on the app are, least of all admissions officers.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
Jensson 2y ago
> His test scores and GPA are average at the schools he applied to. Average is quite a bit above the floor though, so that just makes it sound like he should have been accepted.
- blitzar 2y ago
  For ever 100 applicants 3 seats are available. If you are "average" amongst the pool of applicants there are 46 better people than you that won't get in either.

ksynwa 2y ago

His new statement: https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1907511557149569190 https://x.com/zach_yadegari/status/1907511557149569190

sumeno 2y ago
Ahhh this makes sense, another mediocre guy blaming minorities for his own failures
skyyler 2y ago
>The student that runs fake clubs and stacks extracurriculars is admitted over the student that runs a real business. Yeah. That's how it works. When you do community building and participate in activities in addition to "the grind", people like you more. This doesn't just apply to academia.

sumeno 2y ago

Clear talent at making bullshit apps that can't possibly work the way he claims maybe

xnx 2y ago

Everything about this kid sends strong signals that one would not want him at their school, workplace, or social environment.

cratermoon 2y ago

What are his talents?

enum 2y ago

I think the average American today, including the average admissions officer, has a negative view of technology. So, an application that is unequivocally optimistic about technology is unlikely to be well received. I think that that is what happened here. We also have no visibility into letters of recommendation, which are likely a big factor.

bfeynman 2y ago
This is an incredibly poor take - curious as to how you just completely made up that ridiculous claim? Ironic as well that you think letters of recommendation matter for college admissions when they are perfunctory for probably > 95% of them. Maybe you shouldn't espouse your opinions on this.
- enum 2y ago
  Things like this: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/survey-americans-fear-ai-will-hurt-them-experts-expect-the-opposite/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/survey-americans... I’m also quite sure letters matter for undergraduate admissions. They certainly do at the graduate level.
  - bfeynman 2y ago
    undergrad and graduate school are completely different...?

actuallyalys 2y ago

I mean, maybe he deserved to get into more universities, but he did get into solid universities, even if they’re not at the very top. The application pool is very competitive at top universities, and I’m not sure business success should be an automatic in.