With all the excitement here on College Confidential about getting excepted into their dream boarding schools and whatnot, I thought I’d like to post some reflections/thoughts I had on the admissions process. Unfortunately, I got rejected from all schools (except for Exeter, who was kind enough to do a ‘soft rejection’-aka, waitlist), and, to be honest, I was really crushed by it. I had spent many months working on my application, only to have all that hard work blown away by a simple sentence: We regret to inform you that you have not been offered a place in (insert school’s) class of 2019-2020…
I cried. Binge-watched some videos. Cried again. Ate some ice-cream. (the universal cure for any kind of rejection)
The next day, I have to admit, I didn’t feel any better (okay, maybe a little bit-it’s impossible to stay sad while eating ice cream). However, I had stopped crying and moping. It was time to face reality, even though I didn’t like that reality.
I accepted a place on the waitlist, without much hope, though. I decided that I had to put my best foot forward. Though my boarding school admission journey has been crazy, and has brought me lots of tears, headaches, and frustration, I know that, from the bottom of my heart, I really want to go to boarding school.
I refuse to let go of that dream. Yes, I had failed this year. But next year is soon approaching, and next year provides many new opportunities, new decisions, and, yes…new hope for boarding school.
What good does it do to dwell on the past? For me, I’ve decided to relinquish my hold onto boarding school for now, and just enjoy the rest of the year with my friends and family, and really immerse myself into my hobbies and passions.
And so, despite this new state of mind, I have decided to not give up, and though I know that next year’s admission process will probably be just as stress-inducing and tiresome as this years…it will be worth it, whatever the outcome is.
This post was written to not only share my thoughts about the admission process (and its outcomes) with you all, but to encourage others in the same spot as I am-don’t give up! Re-apply! And I hope to see all of you on CC next year, working towards your dream boarding schools. 