Hello,
I recently printed out dozens of rejection letters from my top choice school that I found online and mailed them to myself in order to practice for the inevitable decision come December 15th. Is there anything else I could do to help me prepare?
Holy crap that’s depressing. Go do something fun for a change.
^ This.
I wish there was a dope slap button.
1% of the human population will attain a college degree. You want sympathy? Uh-unh. You get nor deserve none.
I don’t want sympathy. I just want suggestions and advice. Also 7% of the human population has a college degree.
You cannot prepare for every rejection in your life. Just deal with problems as they occur.
There are 4,000 colleges and universities in the US. You don’t have to fall in love with just one.
There is nothing you can do to prepare for life’s disappointments and devastations. All you can do is ground yourself in who you are so that when the worst happens there is still a you to return to when the dust settles.
And by worst I mean real loss, not college rejections. Those are small potatoes.
I have to say that this is the first time I’ve heard of anyone going to this extreme preparation in anticipation for rejection. Perhaps a healthier coping strategy would be to write a letter to yourself about your positive qualities and the acceptances not being a reflection of your self worth. Or reach out to your friends to schedule a burning of rejection letters then celebration afterward.
Are you expecting a lot of rejections? Did you apply to safeties?
Put some of your favorite ice cream in the freezer. Eat it whether you get in or not. Prepare for a spring bonfire with your friends to burn all your rejection letters. Toast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire.
Celebrate the acceptances.
I agree. Look on the bright side instead.
Just know that probably a ton of people did not get accepted at the school you applied to, so it’s not like everyone got in but you didn’t.
Also, know that undergrad is not the end of the world. Not going to Harvard or whatnot does not mean your life will be a failure.
If rejection is “inevitable”, then why did u bother applying to those schools? You shudda focused on a slate w more “match” schools.
The way you prepare for rejection is to face small rejections as a kid. So you don’t get invited to that big party when you’re 7, and mom and dad take you out for ice cream. And you don’t make the freshman basketball team, so you work on your layup. And the girl you ask out rejects you, so you lick you wounds and find another girl to ask out.
At 17, you should be mentally healthy enough to deal with the fact that not everything will go your way.
Mailing yourself practice rejection letters seems a bit off the wall. Pretend rejection isn’t the same as the real thing.
You celebrate the accomplishments, and deal with the fact that some rejection is a necessary part of life.
@ballsohard2020 The process involves taking chances. That is life. Unfortunately, your generation is not well prepared for failure or rejection. There has been a concerted effort over the past several decades to insulate young people from life. For example, even if you come in last in a race nowadays you get a trophy as the last winner.
You have obviously applied to schools that are reaches for otherwise you wouldn’t be so concerned about “rejections”. I think you should change your focus from where you will be rejected to discovering what your options will be. This is a process not an indictment of you as a person. You are the one shopping for a school and not all of them will be options for you either because of decisions you have made or decisions the universities will make. When something is scarce ie. a spot in Harvard’s freshman class not everyone can get one. You can be disappointed, but check that school off your list and then focus on the schools you can consider.
View your applications to reaches as lottery tickets. People buy lottery tickets hoping to win, but they don’t count on it or mope if they don’t win.
C’mon – pretty much every kid worries that they aren’t going to get into college anyplace, even if they have safeties. Both my kids expressed that worry to me after apps were in and before they heard back. Both were elated with their first acceptances, and said exactly the same thing – “I’m going to college!!!” They weren’t totally sure until then. And both had good admissions results as the later results rolled in, and D1 dealt with her rejections just fine because she had some acceptances. Cut the OP some slack for worrying. All kids are worried right now.
Stop doing stuff like that and go out and have some fun.
Don’t allow the decision of a group of college administrators to change your opinion of yourself.
It is a mistake for anyone to decide that there is only one or two colleges for them (especially the super-competitive ones). The fact is that there are tons of fantastic colleges and universities out there and they can all get you where you want to be in life… In the end you should embrace the schools that accept you, find the best match academically, socially & financially, and have a great experience there.Life is what you make of it.
^^^^and…