As a college student, you apply for a lot of things: internships, jobs, scholarships. Sometimes you get to celebrate a yes, and other times your get the let down of a no. Other times you get the limbo of the waitlist. Getting waitlisted sometimes feels like a no with an *, or maybe a yes with an * depending on how optimistic you’re feeling. While I’m grateful for having been waitlisted instead of being rejected completely, sometimes it feels like there’s more pain in the wait because it might feel like you just have to wait longer before you get the no. You can compare it to grades: if I got an 85% in a class I would be happy with a B, but if I got an 89.9%, that .1% that prevented me from getting an A would make me feel a little less happy about getting a B. While I’m happy I didn’t get a C, being so close to an A makes the achievement of a B a little less celebratory. When you get waitlisted, you often times want to criticize. What are you doing that is wrong compared to everyone else? What was the .1% about you that just didn’t make the cut? When these moments come, remind yourself that there isn’t anything wrong with you as a person. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made quickly, and so many factors outside of you may be making that call. So if you’re a college student going through the rounds of the application waiting game: know that we’re all going through the same thing too, and we’re rooting for you.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Saint Mary's chapter.