So I got rejected from all the ivies I applied to. Yet after about two days of feeling pretty terrible, I started googling all there was to know about WashU (I initially just applied because there was no supplement), and now feel surprisingly really pumped about the place. Like to the point where I honestly am glad not to be going to Harvard, or Yale because the environment at WashU just seems like such a better fit.
Anybody feel the same? Yay, nay?
You have a healthy psyche. Which is great. But, yes, most kids and families get over it. My one son’s best friend was devastated over his rejections some years ago to a point where those close to him were concerned. He ended up at NYU and has LOVED his time there. NYC and this fellow were made for each other. Visiting friends at other schools, some the ones he had coveted.made him happier yet that he was there. He’s done incredibly well there as well and has options the envy of everyone.
Same, I was rejected by Cornell earlier this week. I think, with top choices, a lot of people are quite aware of the fact that it is very hard to get into those reach schools. So, when the rejections come around, it’s not a huge deal. By that time, people may have also come to terms with rejection.
My kid said the place was beautiful, the dorms were luxurious and the students were all so positive. I think you will be very happy at WashU.
I think it’s mostly due to the things we start to do once we realize it is our likely choice. I actually shied away a little from knowing everything there is to know about my schools (dorms, places to see, credit requirements, etc), because I didn’t want to get too attached to them. After I got rejected from MIT and my other top choices became financially unfeasible, I started searching everything about my school, and I fell in love. Roommates were another huge thing for me as I realized that people who are interested in the same things as me actually exist outside of a Top-20 school list. It’s definitely a weird feeling falling in love with a safety school though, especially when you’ve invested all your hopes and dreams getting into a couple schools.
This post made me so happy 
So excited for you dude! I know you’re gonna love it and I sincerely wish you the best in your college journey!!! You deserve it!
Congratulations, @slights32! You’ve discoveed how over-hyped the college admissions rat race is.
U will find happiness in life because u know how to put things in perspective. :)>-
@slights32 You really have no choice but to move on to the possibilities. Congratulations.
Wow I had this feeling earlier and you described it in this thread. Got accepted to my bigger name schools (ex. OSU, PSU, Umaryland etc) and ended up having to reject their offers because of poor financial status. Ended up commiting to one of my target schools UB and been lately doing a lot of research on it and whatnot and now I’m ecstatic to attend next fall.
I woke up on a Friday morning at 4:52 am and found out that I had got rejected by USC. By 5:00 am, everything that had the name ‘USC’ was in the garbage. I moved on as soon as I found out I was rejected.
I feel like I got over it too fast. My top choice was Cornell for the longest time and the night before Ivy day, I actually found myself hoping that I wouldn’t get into Cornell because I was so excited about one of the schools that I had gotten into.
Fortunately, I was rejected by Cornell 
So lucky, right?
That is the healthy approach. The fact is that no one college admission/denial will make or break your life. There are so many great schools out there and in the end it is about working hard, doing things you love, and getting the most out of your college experience. All the best at WashU - everyone I know who goes there loves it and I’m sure you will as well.
I was the same way. There’s something about the psychological implications of being accepted/rejected - for me at least, I became more attracted to schools when they let me in and less attracted to those that didn’t. Being realistic about your chances helps too. Bowdoin was my top choice, but because I knew it was a reach I wasn’t that bummed when I got rejected.
I felt the same way as well. Although I didn’t apply to any Ivies. My top choice from April 2014 to this past January was UMass Amherst. I was so enamored, so in love with the idea of attending UMass that I made sure that I applied EA on the very first day the common app opened. I was OOS, but I figured my chances were good if I showed my interest and everything. But although they said letters would be mailed in mid-December, they took until LATE January to get back to me, and when they did, it was a rejection. Despite the fact that I was obsessing over UMass for what felt like an eternity (to the point of my family being worried about me), I wasn’t at all bummed. I had already received four acceptances, one of which was to a medium-sized OOS public eleven days earlier. I wasn’t sure of what was going to happen with that school either, but it had never fallen below the top half of a list that eventually had grown to fourteen schools. Once I was accepted, however, I researched everything I could about the school, joined a few FB groups and a college group chat, and absolutely fell in love with it. The same thing also happened with an expensive OOS private school that was my first choice before the OOS public came in. I had completely forgotten about UMass Amherst. I even doubted whether I’d succeed at a large state flagship, so I felt that they made the right call in the end.
Bump
I got over all the Ivies I was rejected to very quickly. I had found out earlier that day I was accepted to Tufts, so when I came back from checking my Ivy decisions, I looked at my parents and just said, “So, I got into Tufts!” 
My top top choice though was Stanford, and while I’m over my rejection (as in not still angry, bitter, sad, etc.), I do still think about Stanford a lot, and how nice it would have been to go there. It’s probably not really healthy, but I think it will go away once I commit to a school once and for all.