While some are relieved by receiving that special letter of getting accepted into a school, others are anxious because they have been rejected. Parents, especially this year, are a slightly on the edge because kids are stuck home and they don’t know how to strike off the “mission admission” of their to-do list.
After recieving a rejection letter, parents get sucked into many spiraling thoughts. We start wondering if we have done enough? If we are not good enough “candidates?” if we haven’t worked on our children enough? We are aware that we aren’t supposed to take those reject letters personally, but it is hard not to think “why didn’t they pick me?”
Here’s what we urge parents to do when they receive that heartbreaking rejection letter from their dream school.
1. Have no regrets
Tell yourself that you did the best you could in your interview and nothing could have changed the outcome. It doesn’t make you a bad parent if you don’t get into your “dream school” for your child. As parents, we want the best for our child, and we take our failure personally. But not getting into your “dream school” involves many factors.
2. Don’t blame yourself.
Don’t regret yours and your husband’s white-collar job and curse him for not being an army man
3. Think of rejection as a sign, and not the end.
Maybe the school isn’t right for your child? Maybe it is God’s way to tell you to be interested in other schools with different curriculums
4. Reframe the narrative
To reframe the narrative, you first need to accept what is — and what’s not — in your control. By changing the narrative, your kids will not feel rejected too.
5. Recognize that there is a school for every child
It might be hard to see it right now, but whatever school your child goes to, doesn’t define your identity or is an indicator of your future success.
Mansi Zaveri
KSP Promotions
Parul Gupta
Neha Savla
