We Regret to Inform You, Mr. Einstein

If Albert Einstein applied to university today, would he have been accepted? Sure, he had the IQ of a genius and excelled in maths and physics. But did he do enough extracurriculars? Was he charming enough to secure glowing recommendation letters? Could he summon the patience to endure entrance exams for every single university? Was he articulate enough to craft a persuasive personal statement? The truth is, there’s a real chance his application wouldn’t have survived the admissions algorithm. He never ticked all the right boxes. And, after seeing the rejection letters, he might have thought: I am not good enough.

Guess what, not all his grades were relativistic enough. During his schooling, he clashed with teachers, skipped classes and even failed the entrance exam to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic. Still, his attitude and future discoveries didn’t fit the syllabus. Fatal for the admissions algorithm. In 2025, the application file would vanish before a human even saw it. 

So we ask ourselves, can the admission algorithm even detect a genius? How many innovators have been rejected because they didn’t make the captain of the team, or couldn’t play a note on the cello? The system never knew their names, and never cared to ask.

Yes, it’s really come to this. I should know. I’m a 17 year old model student on a gap year. From November to February, I dedicated my time, writing supplemental essays and personal statements. My extracurricular profile has been building since Grade 6. Somewhere between the application portal and weekend activities, my dedication became a checklist and so did the judgement of the admissions committee. I am not claiming to be Einstein, or to excel in STEM, but I know what it feels like to work for years and still find yourself on the outside looking in. I am claiming the voices of many more who have been through this process. Those who felt they weren’t good enough.

What if the next Einstein is already in our inbox, and we just hit ‘reject’? We say we want innovators, but we build gates only conformists can pass through. If the next Einstein is out there, I just hope we don’t delete his application before we even read it. Maybe the next Einstein, having been rejected, is slumped at home, thinking that he is not good enough and… never delivering the breakthrough the world needs.