"How do you distinguish yourself in a population of people who all got 1600 on their SATs?"
This is what applying to college is like these days. Of course, you can't really live up to this quote, taken from a movie about the guy who went on to invent Facebook.
Applying to colleges is one of the most stressful things you can go through in high school. I remember it all too well. Spending all of November and December perfecting my applications, adding the final touches. And then the long waiting game to hear back from each school you applied to. Then, at the end of March, they all come pouring through. And for some of us, the results aren't what we had hoped.
I only applied to five schools, which isn't that much. But, compared to my brother who applied to a whopping one school, it was rather excessive. I felt confident in my chances, being a good student, getting myself involved in a lot of extra curricular activities, and having a solid SAT score. It was much to my disappointment that I only got into one of my five. My fifth choice. My fallback school.
At that point, I was so fed up. Why should I put in all this hard work for four years, if it wasn't going to pay off? Why waste my time?
Though, I did get into one school. And three years later, I can't imagine my life had I not gone here.
If the same thing is happening to you, high school seniors, here is my advice to you: Forget about them. Forget about the schools who turned you down. If they think that they have a clear picture of who you are from the Common App, a single 500-word essay, and a few numbers assessing your math and reading, they don't. If they didn't want you because they didn't like what they saw there, forget them. They have no idea who you are and what your interests are. No idea what your plans for life are. And it will be their loss they didn't want you.
They should've taken a chance on you. Should've believed in you. If they didn't, then they're not worth your time. They'll regret it when you win the Nobel Peace Prize or cure cancer or help feed a third world country.
And you will be okay. In fact, you will be all the better for it. Wherever you end up, you will find your home. You'll find friends to challenge you to grow. You'll find professors to ignite your thirst for learning. You'll find a campus you cannot wait to explore.
No one knows how colleges and universities make their decisions for admissions. We will probably never know. Each school has their own system that it just gets confusing. The only thing we can cling to is knowing that it will be okay. College is an incredible experience no matter where you end up.
Next time you get an admission letter saying "we regret to inform you...," you shrug and throw that letter in the trash.
