Reasons Colleges Reject Competitive Candidates and 8 Healthy Strategies to Deal with Rejection

2 Reasons Colleges Reject Outstanding Applicants

ONE: Institutional Priorities 

Rejection from your dream college may feel personal, but, trust me, it is not. It is about the college and what they are looking for (i.e., institutional priorities). While colleges know exactly what they want beyond a high GPA, strong test scores, extra-curricular activities, demonstrated leadership, quality essays, etc., you do not. 

Do they want more students from rural communities, more humanities majors, diversity, a quarterback, first-generation, a VIP: who knows? Whatever it may be, if you can’t satisfy an institutional priority, that is not a reflection of the quality of your application, who you are as a person, or your potential for future success. It is a business decision to prioritize institutional priority above all else. 

One thing is for sure:  if your outstanding application was rejected, trying to figure out why is a waste of time and energy.

TWO: Supply and Demand

Highly selective colleges are reaping the rewards of increasing demand for their somewhat static supply (think of the money coming in from applications and beliefs about prestige). While demand is up, supply is not: highly selective colleges get way more qualified candidates than they can admit. Check out the most recent data from the Common Data Set on a handful of colleges to which our Class of 2023 clients applied and the admit rates for the Class of 2026 (where available).