For a lot of high school seniors these days, every day is a waiting game for college decisions. While some universities release their decisions all at once, other schools are on a rolling basis, so their decisions can come at any time. Given this, there’s bound to be envy and jealousy if one person gets into another’s dream school, and the latter either has not received their decision from that school yet or has been deferred or rejected. Here are a few tips to cope with that envy if you happen to be experiencing it:
Breathe. Take a deep breath. If you haven’t received your decision from that particular university yet, resign yourself to wait; there is no point in getting worked up and stressed about something that hasn’t even happened yet. If you’ve been rejected, think of the wand-chooses-the-wizard analogy - the wand didn’t choose you, so you wouldn’t be the right match. With the wrong wand, you may not be able to perform to your full potential, but with the right wand, you can shine and do your absolute best. Likewise, if you’ve been rejected, it doesn’t mean that you’re incapable - it means that the admissions officers must have thought that the university as a whole may not have been the right one for you.
Keep calm and carry on. Another person’s acceptance into your dream school does not spell the end for your decision if you haven’t gotten it yet, and therefore doesn’t warrant any out-of-the-ordinary behavior about it. Unnecessary drama is just that- unnecessary. Keep calm, congratulate the person with the most sincerity you can muster (fake congratulations are transparent; people will notice, so try to avoid them), and continue on as normal. You will eventually get your decision too.
Avoid comparing yourself to others. Just because someone else got into your dream school and you’ve been rejected does not mean that they automatically are of a higher status and better than you. Again, refer to the wand analogy- that particular college may have been the right one for them, but may not have been for you. People are like snowflakes- each one is unique, and therefore comparison is unnecessary and stress-inducing. You are a special snowflake, and you will eventually find your way to the best snowdrift for you.
No matter what Gandalf says, remember: this too shall pass. Nothing is permanent. Yes, you may feel envious, sad, jealous, and/or angry for a few days or weeks if you didn’t get in. But eventually, you’ll come the realization that, no matter where you go to college, you’ll have an amazing experience.
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