I hope that seniors and their families who read this blog are receiving plenty of good admissions news these days. But if bad news arrives, here are a few past posts that might help you bounce back just a little faster.
How to handle college rejections
Treat rejections like break-ups
Should you appeal a college rejection?
And here’s another reminder: Some students, but more often parents, will react badly enough to the news that they call the admissions office to yell at somebody. Please don’t do that. The person who fields your call will almost certainly be a receptionist who had nothing to do with your admissions decision (most people who call to yell direct it at whoever answers the phone). But more importantly, yelling at someone isn’t going to change the outcome. It’s not going to make you feel better. You’ll almost certainly regret it later. And most importantly for parents, it sets a terrible example for your kids.
I know that it hurts when a school you (or your student) really wanted to attend says no. It can feel bitterly personal, callous, and unfair. But it’s also an opportunity–an opportunity to seize another college option, to model the kind of productive and resilient behavior that successful people exhibit when things don’t go their way, and most importantly, to become one of those families who doesn’t allow an admissions decision from one college to validate their student’s worth or potential. You can do that for yourself, whatever answer arrives.