I have been oh-so patiently waiting to hear back from my university of choice about whether they will decide if I’m worthy enough to pay them thousands of dollars a year. Okay, technically my scholarship will, but you get what I mean. I feel like a vassal waiting to hear if they have the honor of potentially sacrificing their life in trade for land.
I submitted my application to the University of Washington (UW) early-ish February and they said that I should hear back in May or June. As of today, it is May 29th, so the waiting period is half over thankfully. I feel like I am going mad some days not knowing from all the thoughts flitting around my brian.
My morning routine of finding my phone from wherever I left it the night prior and checking social media has been swiftly replaced with half awake log-ins to the UW site to see the exact same sentences I did the day before. Then, of course, I also have to check again at night.
The UW is the only school I applied for since it is the only school that I wish to go to. It just so happens that (what is probably) the most exclusive university in Washington has an extremely well reputed program that I want to be a part of. I don’t want to go to a school that doesn’t offer what I am planning for. It’s a plus that a college in Washington is one of the best in the country for what I want and has the field of study I’m interested in. Essentially, the UW is a crucial step in my aspirations.
People are constantly asking me what I am going to do if I don’t get in. This is a multi-tiered response. It is too soon for me to change direction. I would not give up on my career dreams over an undergraduate rejection; I just would have to shift course.
I know that if I don’t get in I would feel bad about myself for a bit, but that is not what this is about. To try and have healthier ways of accepting rejection, I no longer try to think of dreams in a linear concept. I have used the term ‘next step’ which gives me the imagery of climbing stairs that have a clear defined path. One step comes after the other to build you to the top.
Even though I use that term, I think of my dream more as a concept map. The map in my brain has where I want to be at one end and where I am at the other end. In this case, I want to be accepted to the UW and I am at the awaiting news stage. Then there is a bulge in the middle with all of the options I have thought out depending on the outcomes. I have a plan to circle back to eventually get accepted, that just depends on the outcome of each possible path.
Accepted. This one is great! Now I move on to the next step with the logistics of moving, classes, and setting up a plan with advisors.
Waitlisted. Ask admissions what I can do to try and get a better chance of getting in and wait.
Rejected. Stay at home and take a couple extra classes at the college I am attending that are in the direction I want to go for my career. Talk to several people including admissions and the department I want to join about what I can do differently when I apply. I would continue working and save more money since I know that I want to go to the UW. I would then step back to the step where I am applying and use the knowledge to heighten my chances. Dispute the rejection is another option here.
Since allowing for plans to not be linear, I have had less stress because I know the next step is there, just with a detour. I find this method a really great way to stay on top of your emotions if you have perfectionist tenancies and would probably recommend problem solving like this for anyone. Of course, I hope it doesn’t come to getting rejected, but I have a plan and one measly rejection won’t stop my tenacious hold on my dreams.
Exciting note- I got accepted the week after writing this! Onto the next phase of the plan.
Ashley Grace 