Rejection Letters as Part of the College Process

If you’re a college-bound high school senior, chances are you have received or will soon receive at least one rejection letter from an institution. Before you take the matter personally, consider that these letters oftentimes are not a reflection of your qualities as a person or as a student. Even the best students get rejection letters for a variety of reasons.

Here are a few reasons why you may have received a rejection letter and some tips on what to do next.

Your famous, athletic, international classmates

Does the college to which you applied have famous alumni, an awesome football team and international students? If so, they might affect the reasons why you were mailed a rejection letter.

Ivy League and other high-level institutions often reserve admission spots for the relatives of famous alumni or rich donors. They also offer some top-notch students the ability to apply through an early admission program.

Another drain on available slots are successful sports teams, especially ones that draw national recognition. Many schools reserve spots for incoming athletes.

Big scholarships to athletes can also require schools to offset the costs by admitting international students, out-of-state applicants and others who pay the full tuition price.

Overwhelming numbers

In some instances, the sheer number of applicants overwhelms the admission staff.

Every year an institution has only a finite number of slots to fill with new students. If the institution is well-known and respected, chances are dozens of applications will be received for the few openings.

If that is the case, the college may simply run out of spots even before reviewing all the applications. This points to why it’s important to apply to colleges as early as possible.

Code of the ZIP

Diversity of the student body is a big consideration at many colleges, which want to show that a nice cross-section of the population is represented in their enrollment. In order to do that, schools will limit how many students they accept from a particular ZIP code.

In Illinois, many suburbs and other communities share a single ZIP code. This means some of the best and brightest students have to compete against one another for a highly desired college admission. On the flip side, students from Chicago and other areas with multiple ZIP codes have a better chance of being admitted under such a criterion.

Similarly, colleges may have quotas based on age, religion, race or other factors. When this occurs, students who don’t meet the particular specifications may find their chances more difficult.

Nothing personal 

If a rejection notice does arrive, the recipient should not despair as there might be some hope for him yet. In some cases, the letter may cite the reasons why the applicant wasn't accepted. The student can use the information to work on addressing the issues that affected his admission status and reapply for enrollment.

If a reason is not listed, contacting the admission officer may provide some useful insight. By politely asking for an explanation, the representative can offer some feedback and possibly a second chance.

Slots can unexpectedly become available. Oftentimes an accepted applicant opts to attend a different college, thus creating an empty spot that the school would want to fill. This is why it's prudent to apply to several colleges.

However, the smart person would have a backup plan. Attending a community college for a year and then applying to a four-year school is one alternative to consider.

A college rejection letter shouldn't be taken too personally. Admission officers look for a certain type of character in enrollees and may have felt the applicant was a poor fit for their school. Sometimes, admissions officers may have done the applicant a favor by steering him away from a place that would have been a disastrous choice.