Category Archives: ⁠Post-Admissions: I Got In, What Next?

A waitlist means you have neither been accepted nor rejected into a school. However, if a spot opens up you MAY get accepted. Unlike a rejection where you are sure you don’t stand a chance to get into a school, a waitlist may be pretty confusing as it poses great uncertainty to one. Below are a few tips that may help you get off a college waitlist; if you are lucky enough!

The worst that can happen to one when opening college decisions is a rejection. That moment when you do not see the word “congratulations” or fail to see some colorful confetti popping on your screen may throw you completely off guard. At that moment, all you will be thinking about is the rejection, the mistakes you may have made during the application and even second guessing yourself. For some people, it may even feel like that is the end of their educational journey. In actual sense, that is not always the end of the journey, but rather part of it.

After being rejected, motivational quotes are the last thing you want to hear at that point. Well, for some people that may work, but for most people, at the very first moment when they realize they have been rejected, that will not be what they actually want. I think it is best if you take some time for yourself and allow yourself to feel all the emotions that come with a rejection. It is okay to feel sad and angry about it. Allowing yourself to feel the emotions is very important because that way, the emotions won’t bottle up and get you to a breaking point.

Treat this process of healing from a rejection as though you are healing from some sort of grief, and go through all the necessary stages.

It is important to realize that rejection has nothing to do with you. It does not reflect  on your personal capabilities or worth. On the contrary, the schools do not think you are not good enough. They deem you as an incredible and amazing student. The only problem is that they could not accept everyone who applied. Every year, thousands and thousands of students apply, but schools accept a very small class size due to limited facilities. Reaffirm yourself that you are good enough, and that it has nothing to do with you, but them. Do this over and over again, until you move on from it.

Find a support system during that low moment of your life. It could be family, friends or random people on the internet. A strong support system will help you get past this. If you are the type of person that talks, talk through it with someone you want. It will make you feel better and relieved of some sad emotions. Remember, you have every right to choose the kind of support system you want. It does not have to be family. You can choose whoever you want to lean on for support. It does not have to be your family. Feel free to seek help outside. Sometimes someone who is not family may end up being more useful than you would think.

As you seek help from other people, you could also help yourself by doing a few things that will distract you from thinking about the rejection for sometime. Go out with friends, watch movies, eat good food, listen to some good music, read a book and so on. Just do something you love. Something that will make you forget about the rejection for a moment.

We take lessons from rejections. They are not supposed to be considered failures, but rather life experiences that gave you lessons. Therefore, once you have gotten over it, dust yourself off, pick up yourself and move on!

The first thing you will definitely do is to celebrate once you have been accepted. Take that moment and reflect on that major achievement and feel good about it.

You could follow this by following the social media accounts of the school or schools you have been accepted into. This is important because sometimes schools communicate through these platforms, and you do not want to miss out on anything. And yes, you can also update your instagram bio. If you cannot clap for yourself, who will?

Read through your financial aid award letter to understand the terms and conditions of the offer before accepting it. It is important to do this keenly in order to make well-informed decisions. If you do not understand some parts, do not shy off from emailing the financial aid offices for clarity. This will save you a lot from making blind decisions that you may regret in the future. Assuming you did not read through your offer, and you just accepted it, you may realize that your financial aid award entailed a student loan later on in life! Imagine a scenario where you have just gotten your first job, and you realize that you have a student loan to offset. That is definitely going to be a rude shock to you! And student loans are not so good, they may cripple your financial progress sometimes.

If you feel like the financial aid award you have gotten is not enough, you can go ahead and appeal. Ask questions from people who have done this before to inquire how you are supposed to go about it.

It is important to sign up for virtual campus events such as advising meetings, club meetings and even virtual campus tours. Attend the International Students’ Online Orientation as well. You will realize that all the information you get from these sessions will prove to be very helpful when navigating through campus life. Moreover, you will be able to connect with future classmates and even dorm mates on some of these events. They are worth every second of your time.

School websites only publish what they want you to hear. They will only post the good things about the school. If you really want to get to know what the school is like, then ask students with lived experiences in the school. They will be more realistic with you. Go to those social media pages and look up for students who have gotten into the schools and ask them what their experiences look like. That way, you will have a little touch with reality. The experiences may vary from person to person, but be assured that you will get a hint of what it is like to be a student in a particular school.

Lastly, do your own research on the internet. Go to the school’s website and find out things about the school. Read the schools’ magazines and other publications. Go to youtube and watch videos made by college youtubers in those schools. You will get a better picture of what life looks like in a particular school. You will learn a lot of things by just typing a line of text on the search bar.