TP: You’re off your game…I posted this in the parents section yesterday! 
The only question is, will anyone on this forum believe that an Exonian didn’t get into her first choice college?
A few weeks ago, my mom and I ended up at a college admission reception in a neighboring town. A very wealthy neighboring town. You should’ve seen my mom’s face when one parent asked if having had lots of opportunities would be held against her child in the admission process, when compared to low-income kids.
Okay, I’ll get to the point. After the thing was over, I was talking with the woman who led it, and I told her about my two years of waitlists. When I explained the situation, the first thing she said was, “It might just be that they don’t have financial aid.” Bingo! The next day, I got an email from her, asking to update her with the news. She praised my maturity and determination.
I emailed her a couple days ago, and she sent me this article, quoting the following part:
There’s a lot to be learned from this. Maybe, like Jenna, I’ll go to what wasn’t my first choice school and end up loving it. The general takeaway is this: it’s up to you to get where you want to go, not the school that takes you. Rejection has taught me perseverance, and it’s thickened my skin, and through the heartbreak and the tears there is something about bouncing back that tells the world more about me than an acceptance would have in the first place.
I loved this article and I DEFINITELY think that it pertains to boarding schools as well.
@startgirl3 <3
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” - Randy Pausch
I wonder whether those students who do not get their first choice and face rejection perform better in their second choice schools than they would if that same second choice school was their first choice to begin with…
The Exonian appeared to be doing pretty well at Scripps.
Just re-watched it @payn4ward: http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/ What a truly amazing human being.
It makes my stomach hurt how young these guys are comprehending rejection, but I posted in the freak out thread last week about my career, as an artist which is always about handling rejection. Once you get past the psych out, you learn to just keep driving. If you have the energy to keep asking for what you want… you WILL get it.
I like the overall gist of the article but wish for better examples. The female student who got into Scripps (27% acceptance rate) and Pitzer (13% acceptance rate) but not Pomona and Claremont McKenna (all 4 schools being in the same consortium)? No shame or hardship in that at all.