Hello all! I’d like to make this post because I believe this is important. College admissions is harsh and a very dehumanizing process. Maybe not so much for those who were accepted at their dream school (congratulations!) but for those who weren’t or those who haven’t been accepted at any college (<-- me), take a deep breath.
Yes, maybe you spent hours upon hours perfecting your application. Maybe you spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on application help and “wasted” summers at institutions to raise your SAT or ACT score by a couple points. Maybe you joined clubs only for that dank college credit but now it isn’t so dank after all. Maybe you feel as if you have failed your parents and peers. You may be thinking: “What have I done for the past four years?” or “But I did everything… why wasn’t I accepted?” or anything along those lines. Your dreams and aspirations have been crushed and you feel as if your world is ending.
Listen up, it is not the end of the world. I’ve been in a slump for weeks but I recently realized I have to take a different path. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a different path. Life isn’t all about your grades or which college you attend. If life was all about this, then why do we only go to school for the early parts of our life? What we do after college is up to us. What we do with our lives is up to ourselves. I used to be a very happy-go-lucky type of guy but now I know what I want. Find that goal, grasp onto it and never let go - that’s the first thing I’m going to tell you. If you feel terrible right now, take another deep breath and think. Think about what you want to do for these next few years or even months and get the ball rolling.
What are your next options? Attend a school you feel good about, whether it be your secondary or safety. Not accepted anywhere? Better be applying to your local community college. Remember, education is what you make of it. Wherever you go, success is attainable but you have to make it attainable.
Another thing to realize is that success is not what others are envious of. Success is something that makes you feel good. By succeeding, you aren’t showing the world who you are, you are showing yourself who you really are. Success allows you to understand yourself better - your limits, talents, thoughts. Never believe you are unsuccessful because I bet there has been a time (or times) where you unknowingly succeeded in something.
I know what I’ve been doing wrong these past couple of years. While I did have a ton of personal problems, I never prioritized nor scheduled anything. I was a disorganized mess who wanted to believe success and achievement were easy to come by. Now it is time for a change in mindset, to focus on the bigger parts of life and get myself on track.
It is important to take a step back and relax. Yeah, not getting accepted anywhere is depressing af and I know it is hard to get over. But I’m not going to let that stop me from what I want to become. It shouldn’t stop any of you either. We’re all talented and bright individuals, a mere college rejection is not going to break us.
Thanks for the help throughout these years, College Confidential. This is a great community and I wish I realized things a bit earlier. It has been a pleasure going through posts, reading about fellow students of present and past. To relate to so many people and read stories of “we started from the bottom but now we’re here” is truly helpful. Thank you.