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In today’s episode of “College Admissions Real Talk”, Dr. Legatt talks about what to do when you receive a rejection letter.

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Transcript:

VO: Welcome to College Admissions Real Talk with Dr. Aviva Legatt, a podcast for students seeking to get admitted to top-tier colleges. Each episode will feature an important tip for your college admission success, delivered with candor and love. If you’ve ever wanted to take a peek inside the mind of a college admissions officer, this is your chance. Have a question? Text Dr. Legatt at 610-222-5762. So, what’s your dream school? 

AL: Welcome to College Admissions Real Talk. This is Dr. Aviva Legatt, founder and Elite Admissions Expert at Ivy Insight. Today, we are going to be discussing what you should do if you get rejected. Almost all college applicants will receive a rejection letter unless they only applied to safety schools or applied to just one early decision choice and happen to get in. So let me start out by saying that you’re awesome, this is a normal part of the college application process, and that taking rejection of any kind is not easy. Let me also put your mind a bit at ease about rejection. So when you are rejected the decision is not about you. It is about what that college is prioritizing, what other applicants brought to those priorities, and where your application did not suit those priorities. Or it’s simply a case of the college had too many great applicants and simply could not take all of the ones that they wanted to. but again, I know it’s not easy. When I was in high school a really close friend of mine got rejected from her top choice college. Afterwards, it sent her down a path of depression and she had to go to psychotherapy. Not that this is a jail sentence, but it was a wake-up call to her of how much this college process meant to her and how difficult it was to receive that rejection. So the problem wasn’t the rejection itself or closing the door to an opportunity. Sometimes it can feel personal like someone’s out to get you, or it exposes some kind of inadequacy you have. So, if you do feel you need help after you get a rejection, please seek out that help, But again, remember, as much as you can, it’s not about you. Your admission is not about you. While I was lucky that I never received a rejection letter because I got into my first choice, I still had a difficult time afterwards. I became estranged from some of my friends because they were waiting for their decisions and they were really anxious about their process. I couldn’t celebrate my own success or comfort them very well about their own reductions because I hadn’t been through a rejection and I was confident in where I was going that next year. It’s not that I’ve never had a rejection. I’ve had many rejections in my life including in grad school. I applied to Penn and Harvard, only got into Penn, but it was the best thing that could have happened. After the earlier round, whether you get accepted or rejected here are my recommendations: First, focus on celebrating the successes you’ve had (but with discretion). So, if you’ve been accepted to some places and rejected others, you should be happy about the results you have. They’re not personal, whether they’re positive or negative to you, but it is something to celebrate to know that you could have a really wonderful option to attend college next year. Don’t brag though. You don’t know what someone else is going through among your peers, but do take time to connect with others to find out how they’re doing with their college process. Also recognize that that check-in could be an annoyance to some folks because people are very stressed out about waiting for their decisions. If you are rejected try your best not to take it personally. Again, there are demographic, academic, and relationship-related priorities that are beyond your knowledge and control at each university. The decision for whether or not to accept you was likely based on these factors and not on any shortfall in what you submitted. If you are rejected remember that acceptances will be coming soon. Make sure, if you haven’t already applied to colleges that are a little easier to get into, that you give a couple of applications a try. In the meantime, hang in there. Admissions decisions are coming and more good news is on the way. 

VO: College Admissions Real Talk is hosted by Dr. Aviva Legatt, edited by Stephanie Carlin, and produced by Incontrera Consulting. I’m Caroline Stokes, and this has been your daily boost of college admissions insight. Have a question? Text Dr. Legatt at 610-222-5762. For more information on On Dr. Legatt and Ivy Insight visit www.ivyinsight.com. and you can pick up Dr. Legatt’s book, “Get Real and Get In” at major retail outlets across the world. Insight out.