{"id":52437,"date":"2021-06-28T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=52437"},"modified":"2021-06-24T05:33:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T12:33:44","slug":"how-to-respond-to-a-rejection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-to-respond-to-a-rejection\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Respond to a Rejection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"How<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to Respond to a Rejection [Show summary]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Admissions guru Linda Abraham highlights four reasons that could cause a rejection<\/a> and offers concrete, practical suggestions for moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Respond to a Rejection [Show notes]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some of you are unfortunately facing a fistful of dings at the moment. Some of you haven\u2019t heard definitively. You are either in waitlist limbo<\/a>, or just waiting to hear an answer, any answer, to your applications this year. But you know that rejection is still a distinct possibility. How can you respond to rejection? How should you respond to rejection? <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally I like to be positive and upbeat, and I will get positive and upbeat a little later, but of course, rejection is something that applicants have to deal with. And it isn\u2019t positive or upbeat. And therefore I want to deal with it in this podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before we get to the main topic, I want to mention that one of the challenges of admissions is showing that you both fit in at your target schools and stand out in the applicant pool. Accepted\u2019s free download, Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions<\/em><\/a> will show you how to do both. Master this paradox and you are well on your way to Accepted. Download the free guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s podcast episode is a solo show, and I\u2019m going to give a little high-level encouragement and then get down to brass tacks advice on what you should do as you approach re-application if you choose to reapply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejection reality  [2:16]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face it, I\u2019m not Pollyanna: Rejection is disappointing. It\u2019s frustrating. Maybe a little embarrassing, because you told people you were applying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledge those negative feelings, but don\u2019t wallow in them. Acknowledge them. You put a lot of effort into this year\u2019s application, you spent money, you invested time, you invested emotionally in this endeavor and you\u2019re disappointed. What can I tell you? It\u2019s legitimate. Some of you may feel that this is the end of the road for your particular career dream. Maybe you\u2019ve applied before, maybe you find rejection to be a terrible blow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realize that rejection is disappointing. There\u2019s no question about it. Perfectly legitimate to feel that way. It is a setback but it is not a tragedy. No one has died, no blood has been spilled, no limbs have been lost, you haven\u2019t lost your livelihood or anything close to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about my dreams and goals? [3:12]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You might respond to me and say, \u201cBut what about my dreams, my goals?!?!\u201d I have two thoughts for you on that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. You may not need to give up your dreams and goals. You may decide to reapply. We\u2019ll get into that and how to do that effectively later on in the podcast. You may apply to different schools or programs that are easier to get into, and that still support your goal. You may decide to achieve your goals in another way<\/a> that doesn\u2019t require a graduate degree. 

    <\/li>
  2. Or the second thought is, you may need to modify your dreams and goals and replace them with new dreams. In other words, re-dream, instead of reapply. I can tell you that there have been many times when my husband and I seemingly hit a dead end on a dream and had to re-dream, we adjusted. And you know what happened? Things worked out better than we had ever hoped with our original dream.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For an example of an applicant who had to dream differently, please check out accepted.com\/234<\/a> for the story of Andrea Benedict who had to abandon her dream of becoming a physician to become a PA instead, and absolutely loves her work and her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s say you acknowledge that you\u2019re rejected, there\u2019s no question about it. What should you do? Give yourself an hour or two, maybe even a day or two, to be down and then move on. In fact, pat yourself on the back, for your effort and initiative and applying in the first place. You tried to improve your skills through education, you tried to move forward, you tried to grow and improve. That effort deserves to be acknowledged and praised and I, for one, salute you for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Handling the stress of reapplying [4:48]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Some of you may believe that you just can\u2019t handle the stress of another application process. And there are some of you for whom that is true. And if so, again, re-dream. Change your dreams so you don\u2019t need to apply again. But I would encourage most of you to learn how to deal with stress and disappointment, so that it doesn\u2019t stop you from striving to achieve awesome goals, goals that you can still attain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most people apply to graduate school, especially the professional schools, because they are aiming at roles that are leadership positions, positions of responsibility and consequence. Anyone assuming a position of responsibility or leadership role is going to have stress. It simply goes with the job. It goes with the future. It\u2019s not the part you may like about your future, but it\u2019s certainly going to go with it. And there seems to be a drum beat right now in society, perhaps an outgrowth of the pandemic, that we have to do anything, everything possible to eliminate stress. We can\u2019t eliminate it, we have to learn to deal with it. And in a limited sense, we have to choose when to have it. Sometimes we can\u2019t control when we have it, and those usually are very unfortunate circumstances, but there are times we choose it. Skilled skiers who thrill at black diamond runs probably have the stress of wondering whether they\u2019re going to arrive at the bottom in one piece. I personally hate the stress of doubting if I\u2019m going to arrive on time to catch a plane or train. So, I deal with that stress by arriving early. I basically eliminate it. I just get to the airport a half hour early, and I do something else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now you might say that\u2019s a trivial example, but you can apply it to so many different things. Is the painting that you\u2019re working on going to be as good as you think it should be? My daughter is into baking: Are her baked goods going to turn out the way they should? That\u2019s all stressful on a small, minimal level, but it all has to do with trying something new. And there\u2019s a certain stress involved in that. Don\u2019t stop yourself from experimenting, from trying new things, because you\u2019re afraid of experiencing stress. Learn how to deal with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, whether you use meditation or music, running or art, painting or prayer, socializing or solitude, mindfulness or yoga, learn how to deal with stress. It is a part of life. Everyone has it. And it is vital that you learn how to deal with it if you aim to be a leader and a person of consequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n