College Rejection: Parents Suffer The Blow More Than Their Children

April is the time for receiving acceptance and rejection letters from different colleges. Most of the time, however, parents suffer more than their children whenever the latter receive college rejection letters.

According to New York Post, college rejection is worse for parents than it is for children. Parents become so involved in the academic life of their kids starting from middle school, that a college rejection becomes a very hard blow.

New Rochelle HS Winchester psychologist, Josh Logan, said that parents of high schoolers have become "more involved in the process now than ever before." Many parents root for their children since their middle school days that their children's failure to be accepted at a decent college feels like their own. They often visualize their children as sort of an extension of themselves.

The blame game

One representative from a college advisory company said that parents normally point fingers whenever their child receives a college rejection letter. They always look for somebody to blame. He said that they know if parents blame them for a college rejection if younger siblings are no longer sent to them.

Aside from the feeling where they went wrong, parents suffer more hurt when they see the hopes and dreams of their children dashed by an impersonal college rejection letter. When this happens, both parents and children must know how to handle college rejections.

How to handle college rejection

Huffington Post mentioned that one of the ways to handle college rejection is to bear in mind that admission results don't define the applicant. Universities receive a piece of paper, and it will never measure up to the person behind the four corners of that paper.

It also added that upon receiving a college rejection letter, it is best to take a moment to let the news sink in. Better refrain from posting on social media. Once a few minutes have passed, one will experience clarity as to what to do next.

According to Alan B. Krueger from Princeton University, "Don't believe that the only school worth attending is the one that would not admit you." He advocates going to a safety school instead of a dream college.

Having different college options in mind will do many students a lot of good. They won't be as devastated when they receive a college rejection letter from their dream college. Their parents will not be as hurt as well.