Rejecting the Glass Slipper: Colleges Do Not Determine Your Happy Ending

College decisions can come with the happiness of an acceptance or the unavoidable heartbreak of a rejection. While it’s a hard pill to swallow, not getting into one of your top schools is a reality. Many B-CC seniors have already faced this disappointment head-on. One B-CC senior who wished to remain anonymous, a request that illustrates this issue, shared his frustration with not getting into one of his top colleges: “Obviously, I was really disappointed, but I knew it was a hard school to get into.”

Students have high expectations for themselves, taking many advanced classes to get into a selective college. However, one could have all the right things on their transcript and still be rejected. “There’s the whole legacy and connections aspect that I didn’t really have,” explained the same student.

College decisions can feel somewhat random, and seeing where your classmates are going after this hectic process can bring a mix of emotions. With the influx of choices being made by peers, Instagram accounts (such as @bccdecisions2023) that publicize these commitments can add to the feelings of isolation. B-CC senior Eli Wortman attested to this after getting rejected from his top school: “It definitely didn’t help. Of all my friends, I was the most confident I would get in, yet I was the one who failed.”

Not getting into your top school is a reality that Wortman is not alone in, and yet it feels like a personal rejection to many. However, it doesn’t have to bring the second-rate stigma so many think it does. Isabella Puig, a B-CC graduate from 2022, explained, “You might think if you don’t get into one school the world’s over. You’ll be surprised that you can actually find your people wherever you end up.” Upon her return home from Clemson University over winter break, she admits that she had never thought of going to Clemson before applying: “I didn’t even tell my parents I got in til a month after.”

Puig didn’t think she had a shot at a happy ending when getting decisions back during her senior year; now she is confident she is where she was meant to be. While a fairy tale ending seems like an impossibility, a glass slipper doesn’t have to be an acceptance into your top college.