Steve Jobs is Apple's visionary CEO. Without him, there'd be no iPhone. No iPad. Nothing on which to use all those apps. Jobs also knows a little something about rejection. Back when he was 30, Apple's board of directors fired him. And Jobs admits that he was devastated. But here's his take on it:
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me… During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together. I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith."
It's disappointing when a college you wanted to attend doesn't accept you. But if you let yourself be devastated by the decision, angry at the college, and resentful of those who were admitted, you're not doing anything to better your situation. In fact, you're guaranteed to feel worse.
Take a page out of Steve's book. Life may have hit you in the head with a brick, but don't dwell too long on the bad news. Remind yourself that things could have been worse. Start imagining yourself at one of the colleges that had the foresight to say, "Yes!" Plan a visit. Meet some fellow future classmates. Take control of your college future. You've only got until May 1 to pick your college. It's important to use that time to create the future you want rather than lament the one you thought you might have.
Steve Jobs got rejected and went on to change the world. Whatever happens, don't lose faith.