Thank you for your interest in being a part of our upcoming fall semester. Unfortunately, it is with regret that I write to inform you that we are unable to offer you a position in our upcoming freshman year at [insert university name here].
After waiting anxiously for that small envelope, or that email, that would hold the answer to the future, those are the first words you see; it might feel like the end of the world but fortunately, it isn’t.
Breathe, relax, let out all of the tears and, as harsh as it might sound: move on. No one likes rejection, especially if it’s from your dream school. But one thing we all have to remember is that this happened for a reason.
Don’t take it personally; sometimes the 4.0 GPA and high SAT scores aren’t what colleges are looking for. At this moment, you might be thinking, “well I could have done more, maybe I should have joined an eighth after school activity or learned a fifth language.” But you can’t dwell on the past, now it is time to look into the future and realize that maybe this was for the best.
According to College Confidential, there are schools where there just is a significantly larger number of applications than seats, and there just isn’t enough room for every qualified applicant.
We have to fall time and time again before we can finally get up and succeed. On the contrary of what you might think, the college you attend doesn’t really define you, what you do does.
“I guess things did work out for the best. I applied to Columbia for a journalism program, but at the end of the day that’s not what I wanted and I ended up at NYU. I’m happy where I am,” said Karina Padron, an MLEC alumna, who hopes to pursue film. Padron originally applied to Columbia but was not accepted.
So instead of giving up on life, take this opportunity to reflect on what you can do to better yourself. Hopefully, this will be a chance for you to figure out what you really want.
It’s normal and perfectly acceptable to feel sad that you didn’t get into your top choice. Don’t have a different view of yourself or think that this is all your fault. All you can do at this point is just accept it and move on.
At the end of the day, it’s not about where you go. It’s about what you do, wherever you decide to go–let that be the phrase that defines your future success.
