Palantir's Fellowship: A Radical Bet on High School Talent
- Aisha Washington
- Nov 4
- 6 min read
The choice was stark: a coveted spot at Brown University, complete with a full-ride scholarship from the Department of Defense, or a fellowship at Palantir Technologies. For 18-year-old Matteo Zanini, the decision to forgo a traditional Ivy League education for a corporate experiment seemed, at first, preposterous. Yet, the pull of Palantir's vision—a direct path into the workforce for those deemed meritorious, bypassing what the company calls a "broken" college system—was undeniable.
Zanini chose Palantir, a decision his friends, teachers, and college counselor unanimously advised against. His story is at the heart of Palantir's Meritocracy Fellowship, a radical experiment challenging the long-held assumption that a university degree is the only gateway to a successful career in elite technology.
Background: Why Palantir Is Betting Against College
Palantir's decision to actively recruit high school graduates is rooted in a deep-seated philosophical belief championed by its CEO, Alex Karp. The company has declared that "college is broken," arguing that admissions are based on "flawed criteria" and that "meritocracy and excellence are no longer the pursuits of educational institutions".
Alex Karp's Critique of Modern Academia
In an August earnings call, CEO Karp—himself a philosophy graduate from Haverford College and a Stanford law alumnus—stated that hiring college students these days meant hiring "people who have just been engaged in platitudes". On Palantir's earnings call, Karp said: "If you did not go to school, or you went to a school that's not that great, or you went to Harvard or Princeton or Yale, once you come to Palantir, you're a Palantirian — no one cares about the other stuff".
The Fellowship Launch
Palantir launched the Meritocracy Fellowship in April, with the company posting that applicants should consider: "Instead of going into debt to study at universities where meritocracy has disappeared, earn a 'Palantir degree.'"Over 500 high school graduates applied for the program, and Palantir selected 22 fellows for the inaugural cohort.
Inside the Meritocracy Fellowship: Structure and Curriculum
The Meritocracy Fellowship is designed as an immersive, four-month program serving as an alternative to the freshman year of college. For the inaugural class of 22 fellows, the program combines intense intellectual training with high-stakes, real-world work.
From Western Civilization to Improv Class
The program kicked off with a four-week seminar series featuring more than twenty speakers. The curriculum was structured around weekly themes: the foundations of Western civilization, U.S. history and its distinctive culture, various movements within the United States, and case studies of leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill.
The fellows read Frederick Douglass's autobiography, attended improvisation classes to enhance workplace adaptability, and organized field trips to the Gettysburg battlefield. According to reports, one fellow admitted to never having taken notes in his life, having previously focused only on math and coding.
Trial by Fire: Real Projects, Real Stakes
Following the four-week seminar, the fellows were embedded within Palantir teams, often operating as "forward-deployed engineers"—a role akin to a traveling consultant who works directly with clients on-site. Palantir intentionally designed this phase as a "trial by fire" to test their mettle.
From the first week, the interns were placed on live projects for a range of complex customers, including hospitals, insurance companies, defense industrials, and even government agencies. As fellow Matteo Zanini put it: "I mean, what company puts people on real projects on their third day? That's insane".
The Fellows' Journey: A Life-Altering Decision
For the young participants, the Meritocracy Fellowship is more than a job—it's a pivotal life choice with profound personal and professional consequences.
Case Study: Matteo Zanini's Choice Over an Ivy League
Matteo Zanini's story epitomizes the dilemma faced by the fellows. After being accepted to Brown University and also winning a full-ride scholarship through the Department of Defense, he was faced with an incredible choice. Standard wisdom pointed overwhelmingly toward college. "No one said to do the fellowship," Zanini recalled, noting that his friends, teachers, and counselors were unanimously against it.
Brown would not allow him to defer his admission, forcing an immediate, irreversible decision. After weighing his options, Zanini ultimately chose Palantir. "The choice to skip college seemed absurd at first, but I couldn't turn a blind eye to the possibility of a fellowship," he said.
The High Stakes: Family Conflict and Career Ambition
Zanini's decision has been a "source of conflict" with his parents, who believed the fellowship was merely a gap year before he would reapply to college. However, with the prospect of a full-time offer from Palantir, his path might diverge permanently from higher education.
A New Model or a Niche Experiment?
Palantir's fellowship raises a critical question: is this a scalable new model for talent acquisition or a niche experiment tailored to one company's unique ideology and needs?
Gauging Success: Palantir's Evaluation Criteria
Palantir's primary metric for success was observing how the fellows adapted to the high-pressure, "trial by fire" environment of working on live customer projects. Within a few weeks of embedding the fellows in teams, executives could clearly distinguish between those who were a good fit for the company culture and those who were not.
An Expert's View: Is Skipping College for Everyone?
During the seminar portion of the fellowship, one participant asked speaker Gideon Rose, a former editor of Foreign Affairs and a college professor, whether skipping college was a good professional bet. Rose's response was measured and cautious. "It wouldn't be for most people," he recalled answering. "It could be for some people. That's their choice to make".
The Broader Implications for Tech Hiring and Education
While Palantir's fellowship is currently a small-scale experiment, its underlying principles could have ripple effects across the tech industry and the broader landscape of higher education.
Challenging the Degree as a Prerequisite
For years, a four-year degree from a reputable university has been the standard price of admission for a career in elite tech. Palantir's program directly challenges this assumption. Recently, other big tech companies in the U.S. are also abolishing or easing academic requirements when hiring. OpenAI, Apple, and IBM are increasing the number of jobs that eliminate or reduce academic background requirements when hiring.
The Ideological Component
Palantir's curriculum—with its focus on Western civilization, American history, and leadership case studies—suggests a desire to cultivate employees who are not only technically proficient but also ideologically aligned with the company's mission. By taking control of the formative educational period typically spent in college, Palantir can steep its young talent in the company's ethos and perspective.
Conclusion
Palantir's Meritocracy Fellowship is a high-stakes gamble on a simple but provocative idea: that elite talent can be identified and cultivated without the filter of a university education. By creating a direct pipeline from high school to a high-tech career, Palantir is not only solving its own talent acquisition problem but also issuing a powerful challenge to the status quo of higher education. For the young fellows like Matteo Zanini, the program offers an unparalleled opportunity for real-world impact and agency, but at the cost of a traditional college experience and the risk of familial conflict. Whether this proves to be a revolutionary new model for the future of work or a bespoke experiment for a singular company remains to be seen.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the Palantir Meritocracy Fellowship?
The Palantir Meritocracy Fellowship is a four-month program designed for high school graduates as an alternative to college. It combines intensive academic seminars on topics like Western civilization with hands-on work on real client projects, with the potential for a full-time job offer upon completion.
2. Why did Palantir create a fellowship for high school graduates?
Palantir launched the fellowship based on CEO Alex Karp's thesis that American universities are "broken" and no longer a reliable source for training good workers. The program is an experiment to source and cultivate talent directly, bypassing what the company sees as a flawed higher education system.
3. What kind of training do Palantir's fellows receive?
Fellows undergo a unique two-part training. It begins with a four-week seminar on topics like Western civilization, U.S. history, and leadership, and also includes practical skills like improvisation classes. Afterward, they are embedded in teams as "forward-deployed engineers" and work on live, complex projects for clients in industries like defense, healthcare, and finance.
4. Is the Palantir fellowship a good alternative to college?
The fellowship can be a powerful alternative for certain individuals, offering immediate real-world experience and a potential career track without college debt. However, experts like Gideon Rose suggest that skipping college is not the right choice for most people and that it's a personal decision to be made carefully.
5. What happens to the fellows after the Palantir program ends?
At the end of the four-month program, fellows who have performed well may be offered a full-time position at Palantir. The company has not yet announced which of the 22 inaugural fellows will receive offers. Some fellows might also choose to decline an offer and reapply for college.
6. How does Palantir's fellowship differ from a typical internship?
Unlike a typical internship, the fellowship is positioned as a direct substitute for the freshman year of college and includes a deep, liberal arts-style educational component. Furthermore, fellows are given immense responsibility from the start, working on live, critical customer projects in a "trial by fire," rather than on isolated intern tasks. The stated goal is to prepare them for a full-time role, not just a summer experience.
