Welcome to today’s episode. Young people are facing a wave of rejection like never before. As Williams College senior David Wignall put it, “We are the most rejected generation.” Admission rates at elite schools have plummeted even as applications triple. Harvard admits fewer than two thousand out of fifty-four thousand hopefuls. The summer internship market is even tougher: Goldman Sachs offers 2,700 spots to 315,000 candidates. One student applied to forty internships and was rejected by thirty-nine. Clubs, classes and majors mirror the same hyper-competitive world. At Berkeley, fewer than ten of a thousand applicants make it into a top consulting club. One student told The Harvard Crimson, “You jump through this huge hoop of getting into Harvard, and you just want to jump through more to get this adrenaline going again.” Then comes the job hunt—hundreds of online applications and automated rejections. Psychologists warn constant rejection fuels aggression, anxiety and a fear of risk. It’s clear: growing up today may be harder than ever, and perhaps it’s time to rethink how we prepare the next generation to succeed.
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