nyuorpace,
I understand that everyone including myself wants to get into a good school. On the other hand, we also need to consider that those good schools may not really fit us. They ding us for reasons. To be honest, if I get ding from NYU, I would just take my backup choice. Fordham, Pace and Baruch are not bad schools. You can find successful stories from them too.
Having a bright future or not depends on you, not the school you go to. Graduate from a good school may give you better opportunity to get a better job but graduate from a not so good school doesn't necessary mean you won't have opportunity. One of the MDs in my firm doesn't have a degree at all and he is managing people having MBA from U Penn, U Chi, Stern, etc. The CTO that I report to actually have MBA from St. John.
In conclusion, some people are just not good in exam. The real world is totally different from academic. It would be great if we can get into NYU but it is not the end of the world if we get dings. We will still have good careers if we work smart and be able to apply what we learn (not necessary from school, could be from experience, self study, other people, etc) to work. We will still enjoy our life which has nothing to do with career. Keep your smile. =P