On the Yale Admissions website you can find a thoughtful, honest essay by the Dean of Admissions, Jeffrey Brenzel. The essay is titled “Epilogue: After Colleges Accept You,” but “Accept” could just as easily be replaced with “Reject.”
Brenzel is writing to Yale applicants, whom he admits most likely applied to other “strong colleges.” He understands that these students “may feel as if everything depends on which colleges admit you, or whether a certain one does.” His response to this concern:
“After years of experience, however, here is what I know, virtually to the point of certainty: almost nothing depends on exactly which strong college admits you. Everything depends on what you decide to do once you get to a strong college, and how well prepared you are to take advantage of the infinite opportunities you will find there.
As responses come back to you from colleges, you will tend to dwell on the rejections, should you get some. It’s only natural – what you didn’t get and can’t have feels suddenly infinitely more valuable than what you did get and can have. You will be tempted to waste valuable time pondering what you could have done differently to be accepted by this or that school. You may be tempted to appeal the decision, if you had a “dream” school that didn’t come through. But there is only one good answer to make to any thin envelope you may receive: ‘Your loss, baby.’”
There’s not much I can add except to thank Yale for getting it. Even though we may have disagreed in the past (they rejected my application), we do agree on this. To view the full essay, visit: http://admissions.yale.edu/after-colleges-accept-you.
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