If You Got Rejected From Your Dream School(s), What Would You Do?

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A Good Piece of Writing... By Andrew Hickey, BSE at ASU, MS at Stanford


The Lesson Behind this Story is "You will find success. Turn the Difficulties into Opportunities. Feeling Sorry won’t Do Anything Good for YOU! AND "A School Doesn’t Define Who You Are. You Choose Through Your Actions"!

 Andrew Hickey: Stanford University was my dream school. I was Salutatorian, Senior Class President, held leadership positions in my small, poor community that made an impact, and was student-athlete of the year at my high school. I prepared my essays non-stop and took the SAT a few times to get a great score one year in advance. I was rejected.

When I read the email after football practice, I didn’t tell my parents. I sat in self-pity in my room for the day. Couldn’t sleep. I thought I was a failure and I couldn’t figure out what I did wrong.

I woke up the next day, told my parents, then left to the nearby soccer field to my house. I was kicking the ball around and thought

They don’t know who I am as a person or what I am capable of. I will find success. I will turn this into a positive. Feeling sorry for myself won’t do anything good for me.

I told myself that this wouldn’t define me and that I would work even harder towards my goals. I always felt like I had a chip on my shoulder from growing up in a struggling family in a small community. This added to my motivation.

I was focused, determined, and motivated to be the best version of myself.

I then applied to backup schools, got a full-ride scholarship, attended the honors college at Arizona State University, invented a rotary combustion engine that placed second in the nation, created a non-profit organization, created a funded startup, was awarded the Outstanding Engineering Graduate, and interned at amazing companies.

I found success and happiness at my state school and couldn’t imagine going anywhere else for my undergraduate experience. It was awesome. I have no regrets. I made the most out of the situation and the opportunities given to me.

I wanted to pursue a masters degree so, as fate would have it, I attended Stanford University for my MS in mechanical engineering.

For those who experience this, my advice is to keep your head up and turn this into a positive experience. A school doesn’t define who you are. You choose through your actions.

Above is a picture of me graduating from Arizona State University with my happy, loving family

If you find this helpful - check out more from his Blog .

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