Deferred and waitlisted (EA) from dream sLAC. Ended up at regional LAC on a substantial merit scholarship. It changed the entire course of my life for the better and I'm grateful every day for the friendships, career opportunities, and education I got as a result of what I thought at the time was a massive and insurmountable failure. Going to my alma mater was the best thing that ever happened to me and is the catalyst for any success I've attained in 45 years.

Anonymous wrote:My husband is one of them but for different reasons.
Lifetime dream: Princeton. Got in, parents wouldn't pay. Ended up at Delaware for free.

Did very well, made fantastic friends that he is still super close with 20 years later. Was accepted to med school at Hopkins and Harvard.

There are many different paths to success.

My DH is another one like this. Got into Duke, parents had no money. Also got a full ride at an LAC that this board would laugh at. Went there, did great, had the time of his life, got into his first choice of law school, tons of friends from college still and very involved as an alum.

Joe Biden is another example of this. Had always wanted to go to Penn and ended up at Delaware because his parents couldn’t pay.

Sheesh, harsh crowd here. Of course statistics show that most applicants get rejected from high-ranked schools — and equally show that a lot of successful people and public figures went to lower-ranked schools.

But it's nice to hear those individual stories. They're relatable in a way that cold hard numbers aren't.

Consider this:

How many people do you know who are extremely bright, worked just as hard in college as they did in high school, and 5 years out of college (or more) are whining that their life would be so much better if they'd gone to a more selective college?

I was rejected at multiple Ivies and top-tier schools including Harvard and Yale, waitlisted at Princeton and UVA. I was the class valedictorian and got in nowhere.

Eventually got into UVA off the waitlist, transferred to William and Mary, went through an enormous family crisis where my grades plummeted and graduated with a not great GPA...

and less than 10 years later I was working in the White House.

I have a great career now.

Do the math. 90+ percent get rejected from most elite institutions. Presumably most move on and find success a different way.

Rejected from UMCP -> UMBC -> hill -> Ivy MBA -> Google

I was rejected from all Ivys, Northwestern and Carleton in the late 1980s.

Only got into one school - UW Madison - where I attended and it worked out fine.

Anonymous wrote:There are so many of us!! I DESPERATELY wanted to go to Brown. Deferred early, rejected regular. Ended up at a school that on paper wasn’t as good a “fit” but it really required me to think about what was important to me and follow my own path in my own way. Still doing well at age 51.

Very similar story with Princeton for me. I wound up going to a school a step below HYPSM/Ivies - honestly, I think it was a better fit in the end. I made some amazing friends that I am still friends with in my mid-40s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is one of them but for different reasons.
Lifetime dream: Princeton. Got in, parents wouldn't pay. Ended up at Delaware for free.

Did very well, made fantastic friends that he is still super close with 20 years later. Was accepted to med school at Hopkins and Harvard.

This story is not uncommon in UD's honors program. I imagine it's typical at many state school honors programs. They have fun, graduate with no debt, and do well post graduation.

One of my HS friends got into UVA OOS but turned it down for a full ride at UD.

Wound up with a graduate degree from Harvard.

Anonymous wrote:My husband is one of them but for different reasons.
Lifetime dream: Princeton. Got in, parents wouldn't pay. Ended up at Delaware for free.

Did very well, made fantastic friends that he is still super close with 20 years later. Was accepted to med school at Hopkins and Harvard.

This story is not uncommon in UD's honors program. I imagine it's typical at many state school honors programs. They have fun, graduate with no debt, and do well post graduation.

My husband is one of them but for different reasons.
Lifetime dream: Princeton. Got in, parents wouldn't pay. Ended up at Delaware for free.

Did very well, made fantastic friends that he is still super close with 20 years later. Was accepted to med school at Hopkins and Harvard.

There are many different paths to success.

This was back in the early 2000s but I personally was rejected from top Ivies that my parents were willing to pay for, could not financially go to "lesser" "famous" schools that my parents were not willing to pay for, and ended up in a middle of the pack private school on scholarship. Used it as motivation to excel and am flourishing and very happy with where I am these days.

Keep up the Rejection-to-Motivation pipeline guys and gals!

There are so many of us!! I DESPERATELY wanted to go to Brown. Deferred early, rejected regular. Ended up at a school that on paper wasn’t as good a “fit” but it really required me to think about what was important to me and follow my own path in my own way. Still doing well at age 51.

Can I hear stories of kids who were rejected from their dream schools but picked themselves up and had a great college experience somewhere way further down their list? Thanks.