Zach Yadegari, the high school teen co-founder of Cal AI, has faced intense scrutiny on X after revealing that he was rejected by 15 out of 18 top colleges he applied to.

Yadegari boasts a 4.0 GPA and an impressive 34 score on his ACT, which is considered a top score. However, he believes that his essay was the primary reason for the rejections, a sentiment shared by tens of thousands of commenters on X.

As previously reported by TechCrunch, Yadegari is the co-founder of the viral AI calorie-tracking app Cal AI, which has been downloaded over 1 million times and is reportedly generating millions in revenue, with an annual recurring revenue track of $30 million. Additionally, Yadegari had previously sold his web gaming company for $100,000.

Initially, Yadegari had no intention of attending college, having already spent a summer at a hacker house in San Francisco building his prototype with his co-founder. However, his experience at the hacker house made him realize the importance of attending college as a part of his young adult life.

Yadegari shared his college essay on X, which documented his journey as a self-taught coder and his initial decision to forgo college. He wrote about how his mentors and VCs reinforced the idea that he didn’t need college, but eventually had an epiphany that he wanted to attend college to learn from humans and be part of a larger community.

In his essay, Yadegari expressed his desire to “elevate the work I have always done” and contribute to a larger whole, empowering him to leave a positive impact on the world. Despite his impressive grades, test scores, and real-world achievements, he was rejected by top colleges including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, and Columbia, among others.

Yadegari’s tweet about his rejections went viral, with over 22 million views, 2,700 retweets, and 3,600 comments. Many commenters criticized his essay as “arrogant,” while others blamed the college acceptance system for the rejections.

Some commenters provided more insightful feedback, suggesting that colleges look for candidates who demonstrate a thirst for education and are likely to graduate. Yadegari’s essay, on the other hand, seemed to convey a sense of hesitation about attending college.

Even Garry Tan, a partner at Y Combinator, weighed in on X, sharing his own experience of being widely rejected and waitlisted during his college applications. Tan attributed his rejections to rewriting his essays after reading Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” and its Objectivism philosophy.

Yadegari told TechCrunch that he is still considering his next steps and was fascinated by the response to his X post. He emphasized the importance of being authentic and true to oneself, stating that he will never know the exact reasons for his rejections.

Yadegari also reflected on his experiences, realizing that business success is not the only measure of achievement. Having achieved some level of financial success at a young age, he now values relationships and being part of a larger community, recognizing that life is not just about financial success.