It's Decision Time! How to Deal with Acceptances, Rejections, and Waitlists
Hi, Jack Beecher again, the high school Jack. Throughout this week and the next, I’ll be getting most of my college decisions back. This period feels like the culmination of all my hard work from the past four years, which inevitably makes it a stressful time. For all the other seniors and parents of seniors out there, I’m sure you can relate to this feeling, and that's where I'm here to help.
In this post, my only goal is to leverage my unique perspective of college admissions, as a current senior, to help ease your family through this seemingly overwhelming time because all of this is not meant to be stressful; knowing where your child might spend their next four years is exciting stuff.
And although these tips are aimed at seniors, they don’t just apply to those receiving decisions; they apply to everyone as they represent the ideology of college admissions we preach at CollegeConsulting.us. Plus, one day your family will be in this boat as well.To make this process as straightforward as possible, I split the tips and action items into three sections: Acceptance, Waitlist, and Rejection. Check out any and all of them you need!
Acceptance:
First off, congratulations. You deserve it. You put in countless hours to get here, so take time to soak in the success. For your family, I only have a couple tips.
Don’t compare yourself to others
I’m a high schooler; I know what it’s like to show off to your friends what high-level school you got into and to think of yourself as better. I'll say the same thing to those who got rejected, don’t do this. At some level, college decisions boil down to luck: some schools might have needed a student more like you and not your friend, so don’t show off. Stay humble and enjoy the satisfaction without putting others down.
2. Assess your options
Many people don’t just get into one school, they get into several, which somehow just makes the process more confusing. Now, you get the honor of deciding between schools. In our College Confidence Roadmap, we provide a template to our students, and we’d love to give that to everyone for free(here's the blog explaining how it works.)
Rejection:
While writing this, I have experienced several rejections (Princeton, Pomona, USC, and Georgia Tech) firsthand and know what it feels like, but rejections should not discourage you. For many schools, rejections just mean that you weren’t a fit, and in that case, it’s good they rejected you. You don’t want to go to a school where you're not a fit. But, nonetheless, take some time and soak in the decision, similar to if you got in. Just know, the result of what college you get into does not define you. Here are a couple tips for this case:
Don’t compare yourself to others
Look familiar? This tip holds true throughout admissions. Just because your friend got into a high-level school and you didn’t doesn’t make your friend better than you. Instead, embrace your decision for how it comes and be happy for those you know who got into schools.
2. Take the school off your radar
You’re not in. Does it suck? Yes. But what can you do about it? Nothing. The first thing I did when I didn’t get into Princeton was to stop thinking about it. I didn’t look at the people who got in. I didn’t mope around looking at videos of how pretty the campus is. I just stopped thinking about it. Save yourself some anguish and take it off your plate. There’s nothing you can do now.
Waitlist:
I’m sure you’ve heard him mention it, but if not, Jack Delehey refers to the waiting list as the proactive list. Why? Because you shouldn’t just wait. Instead, reach out and follow the steps the schools give you. For some schools, there might be nothing to do, and in that case, sit back and enjoy the ride.
1. Be Proactive
Whatever steps you can take, take them. If a school doesn’t say don’t reach out, reach out. Email your admission counselors, and let them know you're still interested. Fill out a doc and submit it through the portal of the new stuff in your life. Then, when the school looks at students on their list, they’ll see your commitment and possibly accept you (of course, the chance is still pretty low.)
2. Don’t get stuck on the school
Let’s face it. (I need to face it myself too.) If you get waitlisted, the chance is low you'll get into the school. Don’t completely get rid of your hope, there’s still a chance, but for the most part, look at your other options and assess what college you want to go to, put your deposit down, and embrace going to that school. Then, it’s a win-win, you get off the waitlist and are thrilled, or you get to go to another great school you got into!
For those in the program, we run through all these tips extensively in Section 8: Senior Spring. I just wanted to share my own perspective as a current senior.
If your family is not approaching the end of the process with decisions coming up, and you're interested in learning more about the program, schedule a free 45-minute call or join the free College Confidence Community dedicated to supporting families like you through the college admissions process.
Of course, if you’re one of the families with a current senior, and you enjoy the stuff we put out but are nearing the end of your time, refer a friend to the links above and this newsletter!
Best of luck with decisions!
Best wishes,
Jack Beecher
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