I Didn't Get In. What Do I Do Now?

This is often a time of either great joy or sometimes disappointment for college bound students.

I'm guessing you're reading this now, because you have either been waitlisted or rejected by your first choice.

First of all, don't take it personally. I know some students may think that they weren't good enough or perhaps they met the qualifications, but are still confused as to why they weren't accepted.

Unfortunately, college admissions isn't as clear cut as we'd like it to be. Just meeting the average GPA, rank or SAT/ACT score isn't quite enough to guarantee you will be accepted by the school. In truth, there are no guarantees.

The one thing I do want to get across to you today is - that its not necessarily you. Similar to a breakup, where the cliche line is "It's not you, it's me," this is kind of the opposite, especially if you are a very competitive candidate for that college or university.

Accept that you can only be in control of your own application and as long as you have submitted the best application possible, then there's nothing more you can do. The application results are based on what you submit, BUT also based on what other applicants submit and you can't control your competition.

In some cases, there are students that may get admitted that you may think are less qualified than you are and that's another example of when you don't actually know what the school was looking for to round out their class or if there was something special about that applicant, outside of their academics.

If you were waitlisted, you can still write a letter of interest to the school that waitlisted you sharing why you love that school and how you would definitely attend if accepted. Your passion has to get across! Also consider including specific examples of what makes you and that school such a great fit.

If you were rejected, its time to accept that you did a great job and put out some great applications. Then review the schools that accepted you and decide which is the best one for you. I mean...wouldn't you want to go to a school that is "into you?" I'd like to think so :)

Lastly, if you are still dead set on attending your number one choice for college/university, you can always apply the following year as a transfer student.

Now, go and enjoy the rest of your senior year!