"Skip College and Join Us"... This Company Offers Full-Time Positions to High School Graduates

"Colleges Are Broken"... High School Graduates Selected for Fellowship
Full-Time Employment Offered for Outstanding Performance

"Colleges are broken. Admissions are based on flawed criteria."

Palantir, an American artificial intelligence (AI) data analytics company, has launched a provocative "Merit Fellowship" program targeting high school graduates. This is a type of "post-college talent development experiment" designed to help students enter the workforce directly instead of attending college.

"Ability Is Proven in the Workplace, Not by a Degree"

American artificial intelligence (AI) data company Palantir has selected high school graduates in their teens for a fellowship. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to The Wall Street Journal, Palantir recently recruited for its experimental "Merit Fellowship" program. Out of more than 500 applicants, 22 were ultimately selected. Among those chosen was a student who had been accepted to Brown University, an Ivy League school. This student was also selected for a full scholarship from the U.S. Department of Defense, but when Brown University did not allow a deferral, the student chose Palantir over college.

In its recruitment notice, Palantir stated, "Colleges are broken. Admissions are based on flawed criteria," and emphasized that "merit and excellence are no longer the focus of educational institutions." The company also introduced this fellowship as a pathway for high school graduates to work as full-time employees.

An Experiment That Challenges the American Talent Development Paradigm

This fellowship program is an experiment based on the hypothesis of Palantir CEO Alex Karp. He believes that existing American universities are no longer reliable or necessary for producing good employees. Karp, who studied philosophy at Harvard College and earned a law degree from Stanford University, remarked during an earnings call in August that hiring college graduates these days is like hiring "people who speak in clich?s."

The 22 fellows selected for the first cohort have completed a four-week seminar. Each week focused on topics such as the foundations of Western civilization, American history and unique culture, and various social movements in the United States. They will work for four months until November, and those who perform well will be offered full-time positions.