Every school except Iowa rejected me – and I’m so glad they said yes

The day I officially got denied from the Northwestern University, I thought my world was coming to a crashing halt. My dream school, where I had applied early decision, where my parents both attended, where I drove for countless football games, decided that I wasn’t good enough.

To make matters worse, I was denied by several other of my top choices: Georgetown, Washington University St. Louis, Kenyon College. All denied. The only schools I was excepted to were Macalester college and University of Iowa- my dead last resort. I found that many of my friends who applied to highly selective schools like I did found themselves in the same boat. We had many pity parties for ourselves in 8th period AP U.S. History.

My return to Northwestern carried a very different tune

So there I was, stuck making a decision between a tiny college in the Twin Cities and Iowa City.

I was convinced before the college application process that Iowa was not for me, and that I was too intellectual for a party school that was an hour and a half from my house (yes, I know I was kinda of a stuck up prick).

I wore white vans way before it was cool

However, upon visiting both campuses, Iowa became more and more appealing to me, especially since it was SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than Macalester. By mid April, I somewhat grudgingly decided I would be a Hawkeye for the next four years.

So you’re probably thinking, “Okay, so what? You wanted to go somewhere else but you ended up at Iowa and you were a dick about it. Cool.”

Well first, for every kid out there that got rejected by their college of choice, keep your chin up. Ivy leagues and “highly selectives” are fantastic schools, of course. And people that go to those schools are obviously intelligent individuals, but going to a state school doesn’t make you any less intelligent.

Just because you didn’t have the test score to get into Stanford, doesn’t mean you can’t thrive at UCLA. There are a whole lot of really qualified students applying for a tiny number of spots at these colleges. If you don’t get in, go make waves somewhere that really wants you. Chances are it will work out in your favor.

Purple was never my color anyway

Second, I don’t believe that the University of Iowa should be considered a safety school. At fist, I mistakenly wrote off the university as a party school where all the dumb kids in Iowa and Chicago go ( again, I know, huge prick). In reality, I have met some of the most intelligent and thoughtful people over the past year here at Iowa.

My classwork is extremely engaging, I’m learning more than I ever have in my life, and my professors have extensive knowledge to share. As an added bonus, the bar scene here is pretty sick. After spending a semester here at Iowa,  I could not have been more wrong in my pre-application perception of the school.

I paid these guys to pretend to be my friends

So now, here I am. I got over my Northwestern rejection and am currently attending the backup to my backup schools- and I couldn’t be happier. It’s funny how things have a way of working out.