I was looking around Boston.com and found an interesting featured article entitled "The college rejection letter," which appeared in a column by the Globe's late David Nyhan in 1987. The Globe claims in the article that they have often re-printed this when this time of year swings around again. Give it a read--I think it's especially intriguing to anyone who has ever gone through the college application process.
While reading, a very specific memory was jogged in my mind. My senior year of high school, around this time of year, a student at the very top of my class was phoned in the middle of the school day by his father to tell him he had gotten a "small envelope." I remember being able to read his emotions straight off his face--like it was the end of the world. Fortunately, it turns out the letter was only a deferral. A few months later he'd learn that he was accepted.
Like the article says, though, there are many teenagers who don't get a happy ending to this experience. When it comes down to it, it's extremely hard to face blatant rejection. Even if someone is reminded that it was only their application that was rejected, one can't help but think that that application represented who they are, ultimately making it a rejection of them.
One flaw that I actually found within the column is that it attempts to speak to a limited population. It is speaking to those rejected, but not all of them. It specifically narrows down the field to those who had average grades, didn't participate enough, and didn't have the best SAT scores. But, that is not always the case. I knew plenty of people in high school who had a lot going on for them, but still didn't get into their dream school. It's a little negligent to say it's only those who slacked who are getting those small envelopes. Often, it is those who tried really hard, but still didn't make the cut who need an article like this to reach out to them. Then again, it was written in 1987--a time when the competition wasn't nearly as intense as it has grown to be in 2008.
The most unfortunate thing about this column, however, is the probable small percentage of high school students that actually pick up a paper to read it.
While reading, a very specific memory was jogged in my mind. My senior year of high school, around this time of year, a student at the very top of my class was phoned in the middle of the school day by his father to tell him he had gotten a "small envelope." I remember being able to read his emotions straight off his face--like it was the end of the world. Fortunately, it turns out the letter was only a deferral. A few months later he'd learn that he was accepted.
Like the article says, though, there are many teenagers who don't get a happy ending to this experience. When it comes down to it, it's extremely hard to face blatant rejection. Even if someone is reminded that it was only their application that was rejected, one can't help but think that that application represented who they are, ultimately making it a rejection of them.
One flaw that I actually found within the column is that it attempts to speak to a limited population. It is speaking to those rejected, but not all of them. It specifically narrows down the field to those who had average grades, didn't participate enough, and didn't have the best SAT scores. But, that is not always the case. I knew plenty of people in high school who had a lot going on for them, but still didn't get into their dream school. It's a little negligent to say it's only those who slacked who are getting those small envelopes. Often, it is those who tried really hard, but still didn't make the cut who need an article like this to reach out to them. Then again, it was written in 1987--a time when the competition wasn't nearly as intense as it has grown to be in 2008.
The most unfortunate thing about this column, however, is the probable small percentage of high school students that actually pick up a paper to read it.
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