Why college rejection today hurts so much than it used to be (WSJ)

http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2009/04/29/admission-denied-dealing-wit...

APRIL 29, 2009, 1:52 AM ET
Admission Denied: Dealing With College Rejection Letters

Many members of this spring’s record-large U.S. high-school class of 2009 applied to a longer list of colleges than ever – about 8 to 12 per student, estimates Seth Allen, president of the Common Application, a nonprofit group of about 350 colleges and universities, and dean of admissions at Grinnell College.

Some critics say today’s kids have never learned to deal with rejection. “This is a generation of kids where everyone on the soccer team gets a trophy. You show up and you’re rewarded,” one admissions dean says. A college denial letter may be the first significant rejection the teen has received.

At least one other factor is at work, in my opinion: A change in the admission process. As college applications have become more competitive, colleges have coached applicants to include more personal stories, more markers of individuality, more evidence of heartfelt desire, to help their application stand out among tens of thousands. Many kids respond by
pouring themselves “heart and soul” into their applications, as one teen told me.

“Colleges tell you not to take their decisions personally,” says Isaac Chambers, 17, Champaign, Ill. “Yet throughout the whole admissions process, they tell you to make your application personal and pour out your life stories to them. It’s easy to feel like you failed.”