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Teen tech whiz kid with 4.0 GPA made $30M off his startup last year — but he was still rejected by 15 colleges
NY Post ^ | Rikki Schlott

Posted on 04/10/2025 6:13:55 AM PDT by DFG

An 18-year-old with a near-perfect GPA founded a business that made $30 million in its first year — but that isn’t enough to woo college counselors these days.

At least that’s Zach Yadegari’s experience as he was rejected by 15 out of the 18 schools he applied to, despite a 4.0 GPA and score of 34 on the ACT.

The 18-year-old business founder shared his string of college rejections to X, where the post racked up more than 27 million views — with many shocked by elite higher ed’s apparent allergy to the entrepreneurial spirit.

“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,” Yadegari told The Post. “I think that entrepreneurial accomplishments may not be fully appreciated.”

The Rosslyn, New York, public schooler is already a self-made success before graduation. He learned to code at age 7, was giving lessons at age 10, and had an app in the App Store by age 12.

In his junior year, Yadegari founded Cal AI, an app that calculates how many calories are in a meal just by snapping a picture. It now makes tens of millions a year.

Nonetheless, the teen applied early to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was rejected.

During the regular decision round, he was turned down by Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Washington University in St. Louis, Columbia, Princeton, Duke, USC, the University of Virginia, NYU, Vanderbilt, Brown, and Cornell.

“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,” the Roslyn High School senior said.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Education
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To: DFG

His last name seems to be Iranian. His skin color is light. He thinks for himself and isn’t a victim. He’s male.

4 reasons why they might reject him.

He should have written “black lives matter” a hundred times on his application. Or “capitalism sucks.” Or “death to America.”


41 posted on 04/10/2025 6:49:13 AM PDT by I want the USA back (America is once again GREAT!)
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To: DFG

Not a DEI admission or a hardcore Communist.


42 posted on 04/10/2025 6:52:34 AM PDT by bray (It's not racist to be racist against races the DNC hates.)
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To: Openurmind

his records probably do not project his commitment to “changing the world to make it a better, fairer place” aka The Revolution. You need those words to get taken seriously, so the real
“red flags” 🚩🚩🚩🇨🇳 actually might help his efforts.


43 posted on 04/10/2025 6:53:21 AM PDT by epluribus_2 (!)
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To: BobL

Nothing on SAT score that I can find...maybe he’s not quite as smart as they want us to believe?

He learned to code at age 7, was giving lessons at age 10, and had an app in the App Store by age 12.


44 posted on 04/10/2025 6:55:35 AM PDT by Vaduz
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To: PGR88

White males sit in the back of the educational bus.


45 posted on 04/10/2025 6:55:53 AM PDT by RinaseaofDs (Imagine what we'll know tomorrow.)
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To: fuzzylogic

White.


46 posted on 04/10/2025 6:56:30 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: epluribus_2

“his records probably do not project his commitment to “changing the world to make it a better, fairer place” aka The Revolution.”

Yep... Entrepreneurship is independent thinking and not “going with the flow”.


47 posted on 04/10/2025 6:59:28 AM PDT by Openurmind
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To: Openurmind

Not after you’ve started and sold a $30M company.


48 posted on 04/10/2025 7:01:18 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: glennaro

“..It’s a challenge if you’re white, if you’re male (unless you are seriously mentally ill and delusional and have made an appointment to have your weiner removed so that you can — and will — become a female), if you have anything other than hatred for Jews and, most importantly, if you cannot prove that your DNA does not or will not ever be detected on anything MAGA and that you have never — even in a drunken stupor — considered Trump to be anything but pure evil. (Oh, and you must show unqualified fealty to “preserving democracy”, as the Democrat/Communist Party has redefined “democracy” to mean.)...”

Yep.
Unless one is STEM-oriented...even that, the communists have tried to destroy as well by requiring social justice classes within them in order to stay accredited.
That’s why any young person today with a modicum of real intelligence and physical ability should cosider going to trade school, learn a good trade, become excellent at it and eventually start their own businesses. Trade schools are now booming and pretty full in many regions because of the insane BS that colleges are now pushing resulting high debt with few, if any, future job opportunities.


49 posted on 04/10/2025 7:03:35 AM PDT by lgjhn23 ("On the 8th day, Satan created the progressive liberal to destroy all the good that God created...")
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To: Responsibility2nd

That’s probably right.


50 posted on 04/10/2025 7:03:39 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: fuzzylogic

“Is there an unmentioned ‘red flag’?”

If you take a look at the article there is a picture of him.

Look at the picture and you’ll immediately know why.


51 posted on 04/10/2025 7:04:01 AM PDT by packagingguy
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To: DFG

Given his technical skills there is little these Universities can offer him. However, perhaps he should seek out a small liberal arts college , one not tainted by leftist ideology, and take classes in philosophy, arts and literature. My best undergraduate experience were two classes in religion taught by a brilliant scholar and theologian. In one, philosophy of religion, I was only one of five students all of us with different academic majors. The discussions in this class were lively and deeply thought provoking. That class left a lasting impression.


52 posted on 04/10/2025 7:06:06 AM PDT by The Great RJ
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To: 9YearLurker

And know what else? This subconscious mindset is historical. It is a hangover from a time in history where only royal blood, the very rich, or a member of the King’s Court were even allowed to get an education, or even learn to read. All others were restricted to being uneducated “service” or to apprenticed trades.


53 posted on 04/10/2025 7:06:20 AM PDT by Openurmind
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To: fuzzylogic

A red flag? Perhaps…

Origin:
The surname is rooted in the Persian language, where “yadgar” (یادگار) translates to “memory” or “souvenir”.

Meaning:
The name carries a meaning of something that serves as a reminder or a keepsake.

Jewish Agency Connection:
According to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People, some families with the surname Yadegari/Yadegar immigrated to Israel as part of a larger family, and the Jewish Agency inscribed the name “yachad-gar” (live together) on fake passports as a reference to this.

Change of Surname:
While some families used “yachad-gar” during immigration, some later changed their surname to the Iranian-sounding Yadegar or Yadegari.


54 posted on 04/10/2025 7:07:46 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Don't be a "PANICAN" or a "PANICRAT")
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To: DFG

Seems like the universities could not have taught him anything he did not already know.


55 posted on 04/10/2025 7:09:49 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: 9YearLurker

“Not after you’ve started and sold a $30M company.”

Unfortunately yes even then. An example would be the subconscious idea that if someone’s fishing or driver’s license expires all of a sudden they no longer know how to fish or drive anymore. This subconscious misconception is an absolute real thing... All that knowledge and experience, even half a century’s worth is completely gone until you renew those licenses and your paper is current again.


56 posted on 04/10/2025 7:13:04 AM PDT by Openurmind
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To: DFG
My son applied to 15 dental schools this past spring. He has a 4.0 GPA at university. His score on the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) was top-tier.

He got accepted to exactly one school out of the 15.

Why? Well, he's white. And he's a heterosexual male.

He was told in advance by people in the know that he was the wrong sex and the wrong color to get into dental school.

Our system of higher ed discriminates against white Americans. And it's an absolute disgrace.
57 posted on 04/10/2025 7:13:32 AM PDT by Antoninus (Republicans are all honorable men.)
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To: DFG

Hhhhmmmmm...

Maybe I am a different breed of cat, but if I made 30M on my own while fresh out of high school, going to college would be the furthest thing on my mind...


58 posted on 04/10/2025 7:15:11 AM PDT by sit-rep
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To: Magnum44

perfect...


59 posted on 04/10/2025 7:15:59 AM PDT by sit-rep
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To: Openurmind

He’s already in a strata where that doesn’t pertain.

I think he’s after the girls.


60 posted on 04/10/2025 7:21:26 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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