Journey to the Ivy Leagues: DECLINED!

Applying for grad school is a tricky situation because you pay as much as one-hundred dollars to have a university consider you for entry into xyz program, you wait for months to hear a response and all that time you are praying that they accept you. Feelings of relief and accomplishment from completing the application were my initial feelings. Worry and Anxiety weren't too far behind and even feelings of excitement developed during my waiting process. But all of that waiting and all of those feelings only have reign until that email comes in with the final results of the admissions coordinators. What happens when the answer isn't exactly what you expected? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have experienced that undesirable feeling.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Temple University stating that I would not be accepted into their Spanish, MA program. They did not give me any details as to why my application was not chosen keeping the email short, sweet and to the very disappointing point. Luckily for me, Temple was just my back-up plan. Initially, my heart dropped and I just put my phone down. Seeing that email made a thousand feelings cross my mind and then I came to the conclusion that there's nothing life can throw at me that I can't handle. I have been through so much in the past few months that this decline hasn't even effected me the way I thought it would. I expected to be crying and sobbing but instead I've been aloof and pondering solely on my next move. Sure, I am incredibly hurt by the situation but I've grown to be more of a trooper than you could ever imagine.

One of the things I've had to consider, being that I have only applied to two graduate school programs, is the possibility of not being accepted. That wasn't really much of an option initially. My focus was simply to make my application a clear reflection of who I am and to make these universities NEED me. I was more proud of my applications than some of the papers I wrote throughout my collegiate career. I see this as more of a depiction of Temple's lack, rather than my own. The loss wasn't for me, but it is for them. When dealing with rejection it is important not to find value in the "acceptance letter" but to find it in the life lessons that are to be taught from it. I'm continuously learning that all the NOs in my life are doors to the wrong path being closed. Through this season of rejection in my life I have had to deepen the confidence that I have in myself and to strengthen the faith that I have in God. The plans that I have in my life continue to change and be disrupted by rejection, but that only means that my plans are no where near as big enough for the blessings coming my way. My focus now is to build a plan B that is just as thorough and pleasing as my plan A, and to continue praying for plan A to fall through. Maybe this is God eliminating options for me.


I don't regret applying to only two institutions because I believe God had a direct hand in my process of choosing. He has not led me this far for nothing. He has never brought me into a situation that I could not get through. I conquer because He is my conqueror. And so, despite this saddening news, I am still hopeful for an acceptance and to continue my journey to the Ivy Leagues.