Photo from Max Pixel.
Written by Anna Powers and Leila Greige.
Throughout high school, students, specifically seniors, have their hearts set on that one school they know would be perfect for them. As months pass by, you google what the campus looks like, figure out the average GPA and SAT scores are, and actively visit prepscholar to try and figure out your chances of getting into the school. But, when March and April roll around, nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to receive that first rejection letter.
Within rejection letters, the admissions board will reassure you that you were in a “highly competitive pool of students” that applied to the same school this year. Admissions boards will also promise you that just because you were not offered a position at their school, their decision does not belittle the work that you have done the past 4 years. Though it may sound cliche, or you might feel as if they have to say those kind of things, it’s true, just because a college didn’t accept you, doesn’t mean that you are less of a student or person.
I received my first rejection letter when I was afterschool working on the newspaper. I was with my best friend and advisor. It was quick and at first pretty painless, because it was a school that I was not expected to get into. But after, I’m not going to lie, it was pretty hard. It is hard for anyone to deal with any type of rejection.
As more rejection letters came in, it was difficult to think about all of the time that I spent stressing out over tests, SATs, extra-curriculars, and homework, just to have a school try and get to know me on a piece of paper, and then decide that I am unable to go to their school.
I felt as if everything that I did in high school was completely worthless because I work tirelessly to get into these schools but yet they didn’t want me to attend their school.
For me, I applied to only one school that was in Massachusetts. As acceptances started to come in I was really adamant about getting into that school because I start second guessing my original desire to go to school out of state, and become so obsessed with getting into that school so I could stay close to home.
In the midst of my rejections, I had gotten into essentially my dream school.
And I realized something, though very cliche, everything does happen for a reason. I never wanted to go to school that was close to home, and it took me getting rejected to realize that where I got in was exactly where I was meant to be.
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