This is the month when the majority of college decisions arrive home. And while there will be a lot of happy squealing and celebrating by the mailbox, it can also be a disheartening time for students when a college for whom they were holding out hope doesn’t come through with an offer of admission.
I don’t want to minimize that disappointment. Many kids today (I believe unfortunately so) predicate their hard work on goals to be admitted to particular, often very selective, colleges. For those kids, it’s an especially painful sting when those colleges say, “No.”
But like break-ups, bad hair cuts, and embarrassing moments, the pain associated with the rejection will eventually pass. Here are a few tips to speed up the healing process a little.
1. Maintain your perspective.
You are allowed be disappointed by a rejection. But (warning, a little tough love coming here), you are not allowed to treat the rejection like a tragedy. This isn’t a tragedy; it’s a disappointment, and all successful people have their share of them. It’s important to remember how lucky you are to be living in a country with the best system of higher education in the world. Wherever you go, you will carve out a college experience that you’ll one day tell your kids about. It’s still going to happen, and that’s something worth appreciating.
You should also know that while not everybody gets into their first choice colleges, statistics show that the vast majority of college students report that they are very happy where they are. Seriously, can you blame them? Have you ever been to a college party?
That statistic is a good thing. It means that thousands and thousands of students who were right where you are today, students who felt the sting of a rejection from a college they loved, are reveling in their college lives now. It will happen for you, too.
2. Try not to take the rejection personally.
College rejections often feel bitterly personal. But a rejection does not necessarily mean that the admissions office didn’t love your essay or appreciate your activities or think you wouldn’t be a great addition to the campus. A rejection often just means that there weren’t enough spaces to go around. So don’t think that a rejection invalidates all of the work you’ve done. It just means that you’ll be taking that work ethic with you to a different college.
3. Move on.
Not getting into a college you loved is a little like going through a break-up. Break-ups can be rough. It’s almost impossible to imagine feeling the same way again about someone else. But you always do eventually (have you ever met a 20 or 30 or 50 year-old who’s still devastated over a high school breakup?). You just have to put yourself out there and find someone else.
A college rejection is a lot like that. It hurts, but you’ll get over it faster if you let yourself move on. If you’ve been accepted to other colleges, you already have your suitors awaiting you. It’s like getting dumped at noon and having six voicemails by 2 p.m. from desirable people who want to date you. If only romance worked that way.
You won’t remember this rejection in a few months once you move into a dorm. So you’re allowed a brief period of college-rejection mourning if necessary. But as quickly as you can, move on. Start to imagine yourself at one of the other
colleges. The sooner you begin falling in love with a college that said, “Yes,” the sooner you’ll be excited about the next four years. And speaking of that…
4. Look six months down the road.
One of the best ways to get over a college rejection is to look ahead six months from now. This September, you will be moving into a dorm. You’ll be meeting your new roommate while your parents exact a promise that you’ll call home on a regular basis. You’ll be buying a sweatshirt bearing the name of your new college. You’ll go to your first college class, start making your initial college friends, and officially begin your life as a college freshman. Do you have any idea just how exciting that’s going to be for you?
Six months from now, the college rejection that stings today will be a distant memory. That’s why rejections don’t dash college dreams in the long run. Once a student commits to a college who said “Yes,” the rejections and their associated pain will disappear. I promise.
5. And here’s a tip for the parents.
The most important advice I can give a parent whose son or daughter receives a disappointing rejection is to remember that your kids are looking to you to set the example of how to handle it. I recognize that this is a lot of pressure on a parent, especially given that you can’t help but share the same disappointment your kids feel. But as adults, we’ve had more experience handling life’s disappointments. Kids are relatively new to this and will inevitably follow a parent’s lead.
Tell your son or daughter your love and pride doesn’t change because a college said “No.” Be excited about the schools who said, “Yes.” And most importantly, show your kids what it means to just be thankful for health and family and the chance to attend a college at all. Your kids will follow your lead.