During undergraduate applications, I was rejected from 8 universities. 

When I applied for physical therapy school, I was rejected from 9 out of 11 programs; none of the 9 offered me an interview.

When I applied to residency programs, I was rejected from 3 out of 4 of them; I did not receive an interview invitation from 2.

It’s very easy to give up, but I instead changed my mindset to help me move forward in a positive way. See my 3-step process on handling rejections below (after I ate a lot of ice cream of course):

• Reach out for feedback
  • You can only get better and develop a concise improvement plan if you know what your flaws are. Criticism is hard to take, but should be viewed as guidance to get better. In most instances where I asked for feedback from programs that rejected me, many were eager to help me out. More people who want to see you succeed than you think. Most often times there was just a better fit or a more competitive applicant. They still want to see you become your best self, and will make time to have a genuine chat with you.
• Take action
  • Means plus desires does not equal results. You could have the resources to get better (means), you may want to get better (desires), but none of that matters if you never do anything about it. Take the feedback, and take action into improving your weaknesses. Volunteer, attend professional and networking events, start projects, participate in research, and/or develop your own programs. Even if you only dedicated 2-4 hours a week to those things, you would be ahead of many others.
• Work hard for those who give you a chance
  • As I mentioned earlier, many people want to see you succeed. This includes mentors, family, friends, and even people/programs that rejected you from opportunities. There are also people/programs who accept you, and are giving you a shot. Prove to them that they did not make a mistake by busting your butt the entire time. Over-deliver, look for opportunities beyond the minimum needed, and thank them for all their help personally and in the bigger stages you may reach. With this mindset, you will often find that those certain programs and people were the better fit for you anyways; life will always work out if you work hard. Always be grateful, and make the most of EVERYTHING.

By shifting your mindset, you will be able to see how much control you have in your life. You will realize that YOU are the one that dictates your success. You will also realize how many people support you…even those who you think are your enemies. Also, don’t forget the ice cream stage prior to beginning those 3-steps.

What things do you do to move on from rejection? Comment below.

– Vien