As we have mentioned several times in this book, college admissions are unpredictable and inscrutable. Two students with equally impressive applications often end up on two different paths.
One gets the congratulatory email and letter; the other a clipped condolence.
One thing every student should know: A rejection from your school of choice is not a tragedy, or a portent of an unhappy life. Tens of thousands of outstanding students are snubbed every year. That’s because admissions committees must make difficult choices based on a variety of criteria. They are forced to choose one student with high scores and a long list of extracurriculars over another with equally compelling grades and activities.
So, don’t dwell on rejection. It stings, but it fades. It says nothing about your merits, your character, or your future. Those things are determined by you, no matter what college you attend.
Getting rebuffed from a famous Ivy League school can ignite a student’s passion to excel, proving in time that college admissions officers aren’t infallible or even all that insightful about who has the right stuff to succeed in college, and in life.
As one of the coauthors of this book wrote several years ago in the Chicago Tribune, “An admissions committee can’t peer into the soul of the child and predict who will do great things with limited abilities, or who will squander natural gifts.”
Just as there are many excellent students vying for limited spots across the country, so too are there many outstanding universities competing for students. The difference between a first, second, and third choice may turn out to be negligible. That’s because every college has a cadre of inspirational teachers and a vast palette of social possibilities.
If you got into your first school, congratulations. If you didn’t, time to regroup. Wherever you go, a great education beckons.