“How to Properly Reject AI Safety Fellowship Applicants: Lessons from Rejection Letters from Top Organizations” by CalEA

This post was written while participating in Gen Stream in London and done based on inspiration and with some advice from Roman Ross based on his work on helping rejected applicants upskill.

Introduction

There are way more applicants for AI safety fellowships, courses and projects than organizations have the capacity to accept. That means that for every fellowship that runs, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people will receive rejection letters. There is probably a better way that we could formulate rejections to make sure they have the proper resources to upskill and be ready for the next round, or redirect them to a fellowship that would be a better fit for them. This would expand the talent pool of people working in AI safety and reduce drop-out.

As someone who has faced my own share of rejection letters, this can be extremely discouraging, lead to demotivation and potentially dropping out of AI safety entirely if you can’t find the right fit. If you have sought out and applied for an AI safety fellowship, there is a good chance that you are motivated to work in the field and have at least something to contribute. We want to be able [...]

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Outline:

(00:25) Introduction

(03:33) The Readiness Grid

(04:10) Rejection Letters

(05:54) Analysis

(08:15) The Best Rejections

(09:43) Ideas for Improvement

(13:19) Conclusion

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First published:
August 26th, 2026

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/dxh3BAgAGBvr3wNcn/how-to-properly-reject-ai-safety-fellowship-applicants

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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