Today's the day. The University of Ridiculously Low Acceptance Rate's decisions are coming out and you're rapidly refreshing your computer screen anxiously waiting for your decision to appear. Then you see it, the PDF file that could determine where you end up for the next four year years. You somehow beat the other 10000 kids flooding the server and your screen loads:
Dear Joshua,
Thank You for applying..
If you've ever gotten rejected from a school, you know "thank you" is the last thing you want to see.
There's really no other feeling that compares to getting rejected from a school, especially if it's somewhere you really wanted to go; the place you thought would harbor the four years of your life. It's demoralizing, and while people say that "it doesn't determine your worth", it's hard to feel that that isn't actually the case especially when you see your classmates posting their acceptances from the exact same school on social media. You feel like you've failed and you start to doubt yourself and that you aren't good enough. As someone who got rejected from A LOT of schools(10 if you really want to know), I can tell you first-hand how hard difficult it is. However, the reality is that life moves on and how you respond to failure will ultimately determine how your life plays out.
While it's a difficult process, the best way to push yourself past rejection is to embrace the opportunities that are eventually handed to you. Chances are even if you got rejected from multiple schools, there was still at least one that saw something in you and is giving you an amazing opportunity to come to their campus.
Instead of dwelling on your failures, take a second to look at who will appreciate your skills and who thinks that you can be a valuable part of campus. Visit the schools that accepted you with an open mind, do research on what makes them a good fit for you, and you could end up liking them way more than you would have ever imagined.
Once you go to said school, take initiative and implement yourself as an important part of that campus whether it's through leadership or joining various different organizations. Ultimately, college is about what you do once you get on campus rather than what campus you go to.
All in all, take some time to feel disappointed; its natural and it happens to all of us. However, it's crucial to not dwell on it, though, and, more importantly, that you don't let it define who you are both as a student and a person. It's also important to realize that the college admission process isn't personal. Just because a school rejected you doesn't mean you should hate that school from now on. You never know when you might run into that particular college again. While this time is very stressful, many of you will never experience it again anyway.
Be patient, and you'll find your way.
