A lot of us are not comfortable with rejections.

Rejections feel threatening to some of us.

They attack our self-esteem and they lead us to view ourselves as failures.

But it’s not always about us, especially in the case of admissions to unis. It’s a difficult thing to learn, but not impossible.

You can always try again. And the more you fail, the more you learn, and the more likely you are to succeed.

This is the paradox of success according to Mark Manson.

That is why I always look forward to rejections. In fact, I practice getting rejected.

Rejected from unis, rejected from research labs, rejected from BeSci firms for internships, rejected by people who I thought were my friends.

The more I practice getting rejected, the better I get at dealing with rejection.

How do you get good at something? By practicing it, or by avoiding it because it’s painful?

Again, a paradox: the more pain you endure, the better your tolerance is, and the better your coping skills get.

Does my rejection from UPenn mean that I will not get selected for a master’s in another prestigious uni? Does it reflect my potential?

No. I’m proud of myself for not self-rejecting and applying to other unis.

Does my rejection from UPenn mean that I was not good enough of a candidate for them? Yes.

But does it mean that I will never be good enough a candidate? No.

I have a Growth Mindset: I can always take the year to develop more skills, get more work experience and research experience, prep better for GRE and get better scores, etc. I know that my abilities aren't set in stone.

You are worthy regardless of whether you get selected or not.

P.S. the plus side is that UChicago’s official colour is maroon and I own a LOT of maroon and burgundy clothes hehe :”)