Passion project. Spike. These terms have infiltrated the lingo of Generation Z, emerging out of the increasingly competitive landscape of college admissions. What they point to is a new and growing phenomenon among high school students: the youth-led nonprofit organization.
Since the 1970s, the United States has seen a sharp decline in college acceptance rates that has coincided with a higher demand for quality education. Although the enrollment capacities of highly selective colleges haven’t changed much in the last half century, the number of applicants to those institutions has doubled.
Harvard is a case in point. The premier Ivy League school received 56,937 total applications for its Class of 2027 and accepted 1,965 students, or just 3.5 percent of them. Compare that to 1971, when Harvard received a mere 7,150 applications and accepted 1,360 students, or 19 percent of applicants. Universities across the country have experienced similar demand for seats that far surpasses the pace of institutional growth.
This shift is reflected in the emergence and proliferation of the role of college consultant. In 2024, education consultants—whose sole purpose is to help high school students get into the top colleges—had a reported market size of $3.3 billion. Despite families’ heavy investment in this specialty service, consultants’ advice to aspiring collegians is frequently the same: stand out. High school seniors are left feeling crushed by the pressure to prove their worth among a sea of applicants with almost identical academic profiles. How can a high-achieving student who applies to Harvard or any of the nation’s top schools hope to stand out from the crowd?
One obvious answer is community service, which has long held a prominent place in college admissions. Students who volunteer their time to worthwhile service projects demonstrate concern for the greater good, and admissions officers take notice. In The Harvard Crimson’s Class of 2027 survey, community service ranked as the top extracurricular for 70.3 percent of admitted students, trouncing second-place athletics by 17.3 percentage points.
In the last decade, the community service archetype has morphed into something more consequential: the student founder. High school students are increasingly establishing nonprofit organizations, contributing to an explosion in the sector over the last two decades. From 2002 to 2023, approximately 700,000 new 501(c)(3) organizations registered in the United States, an increase of 85 percent.
More than simply giving back to the community, founding and leading a nonprofit organization elevates the profile of a student by giving them a title, status, and the perception of an enterprising spirit on college applications. The student nonprofit founder has now become the new standard for exceptionalism among college applicants. And college consultants have gotten in on the act, laying out step-by-step plans for students to create nonprofit organizations early in high school.
What does this type of student entrepreneurship look like in practice? While the phenomenon began years before the crucible Covid year of 2020, the height of the pandemic left students stuck at home with ample time to seek meaningful volunteer work. State laws vary in their age restrictions for nonprofit executives and board members, and many do not articulate them explicitly, leaving open the possibility of high schoolers becoming involved in such organizations. Quarantine restrictions during the pandemic left students with limited opportunities for interpersonal engagement, so many took to building online platforms and networks that focused on outreach. Some students formally incorporated their passion projects as 501(c)(3) nonprofits, while others took the same initiative simply to generate a distinguishing “spike” for their portfolio. These two avenues precipitated a new wave of youth nonprofits.
