Calm Down: Your School Won’t Define Your Status

You may have opened one too many thick envelopes (or, unfortunately, thin ones) and have felt some extreme emotional highs and lows this past month. The Moscow Times says that the top schools are reporting all-time acceptance lows, with Harvard at 7.1%, Yale at 8.3%, and Columbia at 8.7%.

In Russia, things are different, the Times reports. You don’t apply to a college. You apply to an academic program. Acceptance can be a lot easier or harder. But it’s not anything at all like American college acceptance and the world won’t end if you don’t get accepted into the program. Life goes on, they say, and in Russia, that’s true.

In America, the mantra seems to be “you are were you went.” In reality, that’s not the case. How many Yale graduates do you know that don’t fit the “Yale” perception — at least not yours? Chances are, you’re thinking along the same lines as me, and you need to know that not getting into your #1 choice isn’t the end of the world.

In ten years, college won’t really matter. In reality, college doesn’t matter even a few years after you graduate. Your hard work and perseverance will pay, but it may have nothing to do with the school you go to.

It’s not the end of the world as you know it if you don’t get in. Aim to succeed in college and beyond and let fate guide you to where you belong. It’ll likely be a lot better than you think — and everything works out for the best.