What are you going to do immediately after you read that rejection letter?

[everygirl]

I am posting while drinking, as I just got back from a six hour bitch session with other grad school hopefuls, and of course cheap wine was involved. I came back home and checked the results page, as I am wont to do every free second I have.

I just saw the thread "What were you doing when you got your acceptance?" so I thought I'd start a complimentary thread.... What do you plan to do immediately after you get rejection letter?" IF you get that rejection letter from that incredibly competitive, top school in your dream city and superstar professors? Thereby crushing all your girlish dreams?

Because I'm unoriginal and staring at a bottle of wine, if I see that email on my Blackberry, I think I'll DRINK! No matter what time of day it is. Maybe I'll go with something horrible and dry tasting, because I'll never want to drink that wine again after that moment.

What about you? What will you do if you see that email/snail mail sitting in your mailbox?

I say... drink! Rounds for everyone!

[C'estLaVie]

Yep...rejection came in from that very dream school today. Right after I read it, I stepped out of my office, called my mom and told her the news. Then went on to explain to her how it's a blessing and all the reasons why I feel it wasn't the right time in my life to go there anyways. And I believe it. I got in to another fantastic program who's enthusiastic about me. Sometimes what you thought you wanted isn't what you needed.

[eklavya]

i swear, if they send me the rejection letter via post, i will write on the envelope 'person moved. return to sender'.

this ain't no lie. imma do it.

[Amalia222]

I don't like to drink, but I am a stress eater, so I think there is definitely some MacDonald's or donuts in my near future. I haven't had any news yet, but I know for sure there are rejections on the way, and I am filled with dread. The depression to come is going to be epic.

[cranberry]

Pizza. Lots of it. Acres of hot, cheesy, gooey, delicious pizza.

Of course, I would celebrate in the same way. Heck, I do this about once a week anyway.

[hopelesslypostmodern]

My first rejection was an email this past Tuesday. I angrily deleted everything the school had ever sent me. Then I ate fried mozzarella sticks and felt better. And got really excited about the one school that had admitted me.

The second rejection (yesterday) was harder. First, I got an actual letter, which made it feel more...real. Ate a cupcake that was leftover from my birthday. I went to class and tried not to cry (mostly succeeding). Went back to my room and actually cried. Barely ate anything for dinner. Later, my friends and I went to the river, burned the letter, and I drank whiskey. The we went and ate food (more fried mozzarella sticks for me!). I felt better and went back to my room to watch some Arrested Development. Decided to skip class the next day (today) and went to bed. Today, I woke up and started feeling all depressed again. Tried to work on one of my papers, but felt too anxious to do so. This lasted most of the day until after supper, I put the soundtrack to There Will Be Blood on repeat and started writing my paper. Now I feel better!

Also, I am such a stereotypical Wisconsin girl....comforting myself with fried cheese. Hah.

[cokohlik]

I went into my room, staggered to the floor and sat cross-legged in the pitch dark and cried like a baby, and swore in my head like a sailor.

I feel slightly better now, but not really... I have yet to be accepted anywhere.

[psi456]

I went into my room, staggered to the floor and sat cross-legged in the pitch dark and cried like a baby, and swore in my head like a sailor.

I feel slightly better now, but not really... I have yet to be accepted anywhere.

Hmm... mine definitely didn't feel that bad... maybe when I get rejected from everywhere, I'll feel worse about it... I was vaguely annoyed for about a minute, shrugged, and went back to work.

Rejection doesn't bother me. It's the not knowing that's killing me. I'm stressed because I have one reject and three open questions, with the reject being from the lowest ranked of the four that I applied to.

It was stupid of me to apply in October. Now I feel like its been so freaking long...

[kotov]

A double shot of Smirnoff.

[2011fall]

i checked the emails before went to work, as usual. and after i got to the office (like 25 or 30 minutes later), an email directing me to the application page was there. Sort of guessing that i would not get in for unknown reasons, and it turned out to be the case.

I just emailed my fiance: '****(school name) rejected' in the title. and kept working for whole day, no drink, nothing special happened.

A few days later, the grieving feeling started to overwhelm me. and I had been an unhappy person until today.

[surprisecake]

The first thing i'll do is call my parents and who are probably the only people who will say anything genuinely reassuring and supportive. Then I will yell into the empty room. Then I will locate whichever one of my 3 cats is asleep at that time and take a long, warm comforting nap curled around him or her. Followed by gooey pizza for dinner.

[Golden Monkey]

I'll be stopping by the store to pick up either some more Maker's Mark or Jack Daniels. Maybe both.

[banana21]

I am posting while drinking, as I just got back from a six hour bitch session with other grad school hopefuls, and of course cheap wine was involved. I came back home and checked the results page, as I am wont to do every free second I have.

I just saw the thread "What were you doing when you got your acceptance?" so I thought I'd start a complimentary thread.... What do you plan to do immediately after you get rejection letter?" IF you get that rejection letter from that incredibly competitive, top school in your dream city and superstar professors? Thereby crushing all your girlish dreams?

Because I'm unoriginal and staring at a bottle of wine, if I see that email on my Blackberry, I think I'll DRINK! No matter what time of day it is. Maybe I'll go with something horrible and dry tasting, because I'll never want to drink that wine again after that moment.

What about you? What will you do if you see that email/snail mail sitting in your mailbox?

I say... drink! Rounds for everyone!

What a topic! I've been reading the topic where everyone chips in on what they did when they got their acceptance and I was like "Darn I wish I could contribute... to something... anything...! =("

Now I can (albeit a slightly different... angle..)

I am assuming I will be receiving a rejection letter very soon from Syracuse (MA).

1. Pizza definitely would hit the spot.

2. Beer. Lots of it.

3. Wallow in self-doubt/pity.

4. Get cranking on other applications

=/

[farnsworth]

cheap vodka that tastes like hairspray (not a lot of it though), angry conversation in my head, thoughts that I won't get in anywhere, and then sleep.

Edited February 26, 2011 by jt04

[Bästli]

I'm applying to a master's degree and already got a foreign scholarship to pay for it. If I'm not admitted, I will

1. Fool myself into believing I didn't want to go there anyway.

2. Start up a fake university.

3. Get the scholarship money meant for 'tuition' transferred over there.

4. Be drunk for a year.

[selens]

I think wine and Sigur Ros will be fine after the rejection.

[GI1]

I would'nt drink, I'll cry for half a day and be depressed for the rest.

I hope to get my first acceptance, if I do, it really does'nt bother me to get rejected afterwards.

[HatedByTheRegulars]

I agree with this posting. I received two rejections before getting my first acceptance...AND I GOT ACCEPTED BY THE TOP SCHOOL IN MY FIELD (according to US News and World Report), so go figure...LOL....I'm still waiting to hear back from 3 other schools, and I wouldn't feel bad if they say "NO," because the TOP SCHOOL said a BIG. FAT. YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! LOL :-)

I would'nt drink, I'll cry for half a day and be depressed for the rest.

I hope to get my first acceptance, if I do, it really does'nt bother me to get rejected afterwards.

[jaxzwolf]

My first rejection wasn't too bad. It was a long-shot school and I knew my chances were slim, so when I received the notice in the mail I opened it, read the 'we don't want you' part, and threw it in the recycling bin. No fuss.

I did have a moment of silence for my lost application fee (may its travels far from the safety of my bank account be varied and fulfilling).

I had an interview last weekend at my dream school. If I end up receiving a rejection letter after coming so close, I might come apart. I'll start by sending my mom a text message, and then getting pissed about whatever platitude she sends in reply, regardless of the fact that she's being genuine. I never cry, but I can imagine a long sobbing session, complete with alternating irate, cursing bits and desperate self-pitying bits. I will curse the world for its unfairness and wonder why I have to be so tormented, with the universe just dangling my dream tantalizingly close in front of me, luring me into dreams of success and happiness, and then snatching it away with a cruel "HAHA!" to leave me rotting in despair and wondering why I even tired in the first place. Then I'll try and move on to positive thoughts about other schools, but I'll keep coming back to the fact that none of them will even compare to my dream school, and that I'll end up living like a vagrant and hating whatever grad school I end up in because it's just not the same.

And then chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Or cake. Or donuts. Or possibly chocolate cake donuts.

Later on I'll get over it and move on. But it might be a long, hard road to get there.

Edited February 26, 2011 by jaxzwolf

[cokohlik]

My first rejection wasn't too bad. It was a long-shot school and I knew my chances were slim, so when I received the notice in the mail I opened it, read the 'we don't want you' part, and threw it in the recycling bin. No fuss.

I did have a moment of silence for my lost application fee (may its travels far from the safety of my bank account be varied and fulfilling).

I had an interview last weekend at my dream school. If I end up receiving a rejection letter after coming so close, I might come apart. I'll start by sending my mom a text message, and then getting pissed about whatever platitude she sends in reply, regardless of the fact that she's being genuine. I never cry, but I can imagine a long sobbing session, complete with alternating irate, cursing bits and desperate self-pitying bits. I will curse the world for its unfairness and wonder why I have to be so tormented, with the universe just dangling my dream tantalizingly close in front of me, luring me into dreams of success and happiness, and then snatching it away with a cruel "HAHA!" to leave me rotting in despair and wondering why I even tired in the first place. Then I'll try and move on to positive thoughts about other schools, but I'll keep coming back to the fact that none of them will even compare to my dream school, and that I'll end up living like a vagrant and hating whatever grad school I end up in because it's just not the same.

And then chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Or cake. Or donuts. Or possibly chocolate cake donuts.

Later on I'll get over it and move on. But it might be a long, hard road to get there.

Even though this may sound morbid because of the subject matter - I LOVE your descriptions! So vivid! So gut-wrenching!

[cokohlik]

Also, for what it's worth, I really hope that you get in to your dream school.

[ShaEnYsi]

For me, it will be about 30 seconds of profound and shattering silence followed by a marathon binge of ridiculous YouTube videos and Dreamworks movies to numb the brain..................and then maybe like a pint of tequila.

also...

i swear, if they send me the rejection letter via post, i will write on the envelope 'person moved. return to sender'.

this ain't no lie. imma do it.

Brilliant

[Bilusaurus]

I'll change my religion and try praying to a different god next time around.

[space-cat]

I was actually kind of upset that my first rejection letter was in no way condescending, sappy and ego stroking, or unintentionally hilarious. If you're gonna reject my ass, make it worth my time, you know? None of this calm, reasonable, "too many qualified applicants" nonsense.

[katemiddleton]

If I get rejected from both of my dream schools, I will be pretty shattered...I'm not sure what I'll be able to do except cry. I really tried my absolute BEST to be a strong candidate, and I'm a good fit with the faculty at both places, plus they are MA programs, not PhD programs. In my less rational moments, I am sure that being rejected from these two schools will mean that I am the lowest, stupidest form of human life. And unfortunately, I can't even drink away my sorrows, because I'm a sad drunk!

Kate

[diber]

I got a reject from my dream school on Friday. I REALLY thought I was going to get in. I did everything right. i played that game hard.

I shook for hours, and cried a lot. And ate pizza. And numbly watched TV.

I'm still in shock a little bit. For months, I've been living the dream in my head of going to dream school. It's like my Friend the Dream died. And I have to start mentally living another reality.

I think it's okay to mourn a little bit. Probably healthy. The other schools, which I'm pretty much assuming are rejects now, didn't feel as personal as this one school, and I'll probably just scowl at the letters when they arrive.

I'm a little pissed, because I spend SO much money on this round of applications.

I do have one accept at a school that's pretty good and I think I can be happy with....just the money situation is a little nuts there. (As in, they don't have it)