We Can Not Offer you Admission Thank You for Applying...

 The letter we have been waiting for...but the answer that we did not want to hear.  Now is around the time that students are anxiously waiting to be accepted into school.  this is an exciting time, anxiety-driven, and the next level of your chapter as a student.

So when we get those letters that have the decisions inside, but not the answer we are looking for...What do we do next?

Some of the thoughts that come up when we see the words not accepted or we can not offer you admission:
-What am I going to do if I do not get into any other school?
- What did I do wrong not to get in?

Thoughts flow through our head and it does not help to make it easier when we think of all the negativity thoughts

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Email the college to find out why you were not accepted and/or call.  Try to wait a few days after you found out you were not accepted, because you can have a clearer perspective and you could write down some of the questions that you would like to ask the admissions committee.  Sometimes when we call when we are in the moment, when something just happened that we are not happy about, our words can be a little unclear and we may not convey our message as clear as we would if we waited.

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If you applied to other schools, that is great news because you will be getting more letters in the mail soon.  Some schools even have where you may be wait listed, which is still good news because others could decide that they do not want to attend the school.  If you are anxious to see what number you are on the wait list, sometimes schools will let you know if you call and ask.  My motto is, "It never hurts to ask", the worse someone can say is we can not provide you that information at the time or "no."

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If you only applied to one school and did not get in then you can possibly look into going to your nearest community college or taking some classes online that all are related to the field.  
Shadowing other Speech Language Pathologists is a great option as well to keep you abreast of the material, until you begin to apply for schools again.  Maybe you could even apply to a receptionsist job in a clinical setting so that you can still be in a setting that allows you to visualize becoming a Speech Language Pathologist.

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Start applying again as soon as possible and also look for ways to improve for the next application period. If you can maybe take the GRE or SAT again, take some extra classes that are related to the field of Speech Language Pathology, fine tune your personal essay, ensure that your recommendation letters are a reflection of all of the skills that you possess.  Positive affirmations everyday to reduce any negative thoughts from straying into your head.
And whatever you do, do not compare yourself to someone else who did get into school.  This is not about anyone else, but yourself.
You can do this, do not give up!!!!

In the meantime, head over to SLP Echo's blog post Desperation or Determination.  Also below are some other websites to check out for another perspective on not getting into school:

What to Do if You Don't get a College Acceptance by Peterson's Staff.  Retrieved from 
http://www.petersons.com/college-search/dont-get-college-acceptance.aspx on April 11, 2013

On the Joys of Not Getting What You Want  by Lawrence J. Momo.  Retrieved from  
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/on-the-joys-of-not-getting-what-you-want/ on April 11, 2013

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