"I am sorry to inform you that New York University cannot offer you admission. Although this may come as a disappointment ..." and the letter read on. A huge lump filled my throat as I read those harsh words. A disappointment is the least it is. My whole life, all I ever wanted to do was to go to NYU, but they didn't want me. Why did this happen to me?

The other seniors poured their hearts out about how happy they were to get into Cornell, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania, and other excellent schools. A few received deferral letters from Harvard, Brown, and MIT, but I was the first lucky senior to bring to Clarkstown North's Class of '97 a big, fat rejection. There, I said it. I got rejected. Gosh, that sounds so final.

I keep trying to rationalize things for myself, and people keep telling me that not getting in was a good thing. Maybe I should transfer in a year or two. Yeah, whatever, I thought.

My dreams are shattered, pierced by a person who decided that what I got in sophomore year math was not high enough or my SAT scores were 20 points below NYU's standards. I can tell myself that I don't care, but who am I kidding?

Words on a page with a New York University logo, that's all it is, right? I think not. v