<p>theres nothing wrong with flipping burgers -______-</p>
<p>Rejected from Harvard? –> Columbia University
Rejected from Duke? –> Washington University in St. Louis (AND the article said it was the guy’s “other top choice”)
Rejected from Stanford? –> University of Notre Dame</p>
<p>Seriously, and I’m going to reiterate a point the past posters have said-- so what if they didn’t get into Harvard? They still ended up at prestigious schools!</p>
<p>That said, some of the quotes by these successful businessmen and scientists were quite inspiring.</p>
<p>Life is unfair some people get what you deserve but ultimately its what you do with what you got that defines you</p>
<p>What about the experience of being a part of the community that fits you like no other?
Is the entire focus of the college experience judged by what happens after graduation?
Are students valued for who they are and their contributions as students at a particular university not important?</p>
<p>Good article but for teenagers who get rejected by their top choices and their targets and only get accepted at their safety’s (very safety and where you don’t want to go) where the average ACT is 25 and your ACT is >30, you have 3.8 GPA, and doing all AP/Honors it does seem a little difficult to remain motivated…what do yo suggest for these kids?</p>
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<p>It happens. In a few of the cases I’ve seen, when the student works passionately in the safety school and achieves impressive grades and activities, opportunities to transfer to better schools do open up.</p>
<p>One thing I never understood is when kids get rejected from Ivies and they have to “settle” for their state’s flagship university. I think they forget there are honor colleges within their chosen department, so it’s not like they’re surrounded by mediocracy. Some flagship universities have excellent honor programs. Add to that sports and too many RSOs to count on one hand to join makes it even more appealing.</p>
<p>Son went to his safety (PSU honors) after getting rejected from MIT/Princeton. He has a nice phd fellowship offer at Yale (for you Ivy folks) and other top schools. Believe me, there are plenty of hard working, smart kids at state colleges. He was surrounded by them.</p>
<p>Great Susan Estrich Article on this subject today -</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100401/OPINION06/3310376/Susan-Estrich--Sometimes-rejection-can-actually-be-good[/url]”>http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100401/OPINION06/3310376/Susan-Estrich--Sometimes-rejection-can-actually-be-good</a></p>
<p>An excerpt - “But this much I do know, from the distance of decades. I know that being rejected by Harvard was a whole lot easier than losing my father a few years later, when I was in law school at Harvard. I would have traded that fat envelope in a minute.”</p>
<p>Nice article and so true. </p>
<p>Now it would also be interesting if someone could write an article about the many, many people who went to Harvard or Yale and went on to live ordinary, pedestrian lives. </p>
<p>The kids who <em>do</em> get into Harvard, Yale (and other top colleges) should realize that it will still be up to them to make the most of the opportunities that these places provide.</p>
<p>I also liked the Estrich article. And…although cliche…I liked this thought from it:</p>
<p>"I know that no one gets all Aces, that life is rarely a straight flush, beginning to end, and that what matters most is not the cards you are dealt but how you play them. "</p>
<p>Another “happy” rejection story:
[Your</a> Education. Your GuruFinder. If at first you don?t succeed: Should You Reapply to Graduate School Next Year?](<a href=“http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■/?p=26]Your”>http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■/?p=26)</p>
<p>“All these years later, I am glad that I applied again. I waited a few years to do it, but in the interim I became a better candidate and got better results. I know what it feels like to have your dreams shattered by a rejection letter… or six.”</p>
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<p>Yeah, no kidding! I don’t understand how this article is inspirational in any way. Boo-hoo. I’d rather read about the kid who didn’t even apply to Harvard because he knew he’d never be able to afford it, went to the local community college instead, and then became successful. But I suppose a story like that would take some research.</p>
<p>After reading the responses above, I’m reminded of just how sensitive and personal this topic is for not just the kids, but for their parents, who hurt so deeply when they hurt and glow so brightly when they shine.
If you have a student who would be thrilled to get into a school, such as Wash U, then there was a strong chance you found the article off-putting it seems. You were unable to see any of the article’s merit.
I suspect that in five month’s time, were you to read this same article, you might be able to see some value to it.
These are some pretty emotional days.</p>
<p>That’s charitable of you, but I don’t buy it. Anyone, at anytime, who whines about being “stuck” going to their second-choice Ivy League school is a front-runner for Upperclass Twit of the Year. That’s what I thought for the last forty years, and that’s what I’ll think in five months.</p>
<p>I just want to point out some very recent data: Very many Harvard grads from the class of '09 are still out of work or have settled for part-time or some kind of volunteering effort. Same is true for some other Ivies/high-ranked. Other grads – both from some Ivies and from lower-ranked schools – have jobs. It’s really about your field, what you’ve made of opportunities prior to graduating (if you had them), and some amount of luck (which often equates to timing). </p>
<p>Harvard is not the ticket to success. I know someone who had no clue what to major in at H, chose a major randomly, and was unable to do anything with that upon graduation (or use that major to deepen or expand a professional interest). She did open a business, not related to her major, is doing OK with that, but she is not close to what one would call amazingly successful. (Not rich; works very long hours; and earns a middle-class salary in what is basically a service occupation.) She has independence but does not strike me as happy. It’s a position that anyone with a 4-year degree from anywhere could acquire. Another more recent H grad is in love with a field that traditionally has always been extremely hard to break into (even more so, now) and is living back home with her parents, working only part-time. </p>
<p>If I had any advice for those in the college search process, it would be to mine the data in multiple directions. I mean, what is a “safety”? Is it merely the school that you have a great chance to be admitted to, or is it also maybe a school that has a fabulous placement office, great opportunities in your field, a great employment track record in the industry of your choice, internship opportunities (domestic and international, if need be), and/or one that will prepare you extremely well for your ultimate professional track (via grades for grad school or the program itself)? Is it maybe a school that will allow you to be a big fish in a small pond, with great visibility? Is it a school known for its undergraduate support system, allowing you to make important connections with profs who can steer you with advice and even job notifications?</p>
<p>And think about your program/major. Is it one that you can pair with another interest or anticipated grad school/professional school major, which will make you stand out as a candidate for the next level? An awful lot of the '09 grads who are now employed full-time in their field chose to somewhat “specialize” by carefully choosing their major/minor combinations or doing something else to make themselves more marketable and appear less of a generalist.</p>
<p>Epiphany - some great points, thanks for sharing…</p>