December brought early action results.
Sofia was deferred from Columbia. Not rejected, but not accepted either. Placed in the regular decision pool for consideration in the spring.
She was devastated.
"I worked so hard. My grades are perfect. My essays were good. My recommendations were strong. Why wasn't I good enough?"
"You are good enough. But Columbia accepts 4% of applicants. Being deferred isn't a rejection. It's a maybe."
"Maybe feels worse than no."
"I know. But Sofia, you applied to eight schools. You'll get into some of them. And wherever you end up, you'll thrive."
"I wanted Columbia. I wanted to follow in your footsteps."
"I never went to Columbia. I barely finished high school."
"But you lectured there. You made an impact there. I wanted I wanted to be part of that legacy."
