COLLEGE DECISION STATUS: PENDING (ETERNALLY)

Advice from people who really aren’t qualified to give it

November 18, 2020

Dear Applicant,

We are delighted to tell you that we have received your application and…

You need to wait another month. Or two. Then, of course, we might defer you, and you’ll get to wait two more! Thank you for your everlasting patience.

Sincerely,

Your dream school (xoxo)

Hey Seniors,

So, you submitted your early applications. It seems like you just made a massive step forward in life, but it feels like nothing has changed at the same time.

America is used to instant results. Waiting a couple of days for the result of the election was nerve-wracking for pretty much everyone. Now imagine paying a considerable fee, waiting 50 or more days, and finally your decision comes … only to be rejected, or worse, deferred.

But, right now, you have no idea what’s going to happen, and that’s the hardest part. Maybe you’ve practiced your reaction to your surefire acceptance or convinced yourself so thoroughly that you’ll be rejected that it already feels like a reality. You’ve tried to create certainty in the face of uncertainty. You hate the answer “maybe,” so you’ve decided in your head what will happen already.

Don’t.

Look, we get it. During COVID-19, the entire world feels like that spinning rainbow wheel of death on your computer. Life is in a constant “pending” state, and we know that early applications aren’t helping. Yet no matter how hard you try to stop that wheel from spinning, you’re going to need to face the inevitable: furiously clicking your keyboard won’t do anything to help. So instead, you just have to take a deep breath and simply wait.

We get that you need certainty, but try not to get that feeling of security by deciding what the college is going to tell you without knowing. Instead, try to draw that certainty from inside.

A LIST OF THINGS THAT ARE CERTAIN:

Your fundamental, unquestionable, inalienable worth
Your worth if you get into your early schools! We promise it won’t go up if you get in.
Your worth if you get rejected by every single early school you apply to! We promise it won’t go down if you don’t get in.
All the things in your life you love! They will still be there whatever decision you get.
The people in your life that love you! We promise they won’t love you less if you don’t get in, or more if you do.
The fact that you actually completed an application. Your efforts do not go to waste no matter what the result is.

A LIST OF THINGS THAT ARE NOT CERTAIN:

Whether or not you get into your early schools, or any school at all for that matter (and that’s 100% okay)

So, try not to be certain about the one thing you can’t know at this point. Don’t tell yourself that you’re for sure getting in, or that you’re for sure getting rejected. Prepare yourself for any outcome.

Know that there are many, many other things you can be certain of in this uncertain time. Even though it seems like “early action” is really “no action at all,” you can still take control of your own mindset.

Sincerely,

Two seniors who are just as overwhelmed as you