It’s that time of year again. Students across the country, and overseas, are receiving letters from the colleges they’ve applied to. If you’ve come across this blog, you may have received the bad news that you were not admitted to your dream school. It may seem that your life is over and that you will never amount to anything but that is NOT the case. Here are five tips for those who have been rejected by their dream school.
1. Write an Appeal Letter
Before you decide to write an appeal letter, consider your chances of reversing that decision and if you legitimately deserve a second look by the admissions office. If you’re dream school is one of the top schools in the country (Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc.), chances are writing an appeal letter wont work. If you are applying to a state school or a school with a higher admission rate like 10-15%, writing an appeal letter might just work for you. For in-depth information on what you should include in this letter, check out this blog we made for those who were put on a wait list. Be reasonable and write an appeal letter only if you’re application is on-par with those already admitted.
2. Revise Your Dream School
Gain some perspective and take a look at the schools you did get in to. Just because you don’t go to a top-rated school in the country doesn’t mean you can’t have an amazing educational experience. Be thankful of the opportunities you may have available to you. Working hard has put you in that position of being able to have schools to fall back on. You can still have an amazingly successful life no matter where you go.
3. Think of a Transfer Plan
Even if you haven’t been admitted anywhere, there is always the option of going to community college. There are usually no admissions requirements besides just graduating high school and community college can save you a lot of money. If you get amazing grades at community college you can certainly transfer into some top universities (for more information on the transfer route check out this blog). It is important to find out the rates of transfer admissions at your dream school but don’t give up. You are the deciding factor in your future, not some college admissions letter. Keep showing some grit and move forward.
4. Aim for Grad School
Just because you didn’t get into your dream school now doesn’t mean you can’t go in the future. In fact, in some cases it is easier to get into a graduate program than to enroll as an undergraduate. This may be the best route for international students having a tough time getting in to some universities in the States. Some of the top colleges just can’t determine academic rigors of your high school when coming from overseas. You may, unfortunately, just get lost in the shuffle when applying from an over-saturated country with tons of applicants. Grad school might be the best bet for attending your dream school.
Research shows that life outcomes aren’t related to being admitted or rejected to a top university. There are tons of factors to consider when looking at earning potential or academic success and going to a certain university just isn’t one of them. As long as you put in the work and make the most of your time at the school you attend, the rest will figure itself out. You being rejected to your dream school is just a domino in a string of events that is going to form who you are and will become. You are the biggest ingredient to your success, not the school you go to.
