How do you cope with rejection in application process?

I'm not sure there is any easy way to take the sting out of a rejection, especially if it is your dream school, but please don't let the fear of rejection stop you from applying. If I can impart one piece of wisdom, it is this: Every successful person you know or will ever meet has at one point in their life failed at something. Either they didn't get accepted into their dream school, or didn't get the dream job they were applying for, but it is how they handled the failure that made them successful. They took the rejection, (maybe threw some things, said some extremely bad words), then they dusted themselves off and tried again.

Haley, awesome question. Rejection is for better or worse part of life. You will be rejected from jobs, rejected from someone you are romantically interested in, rejected from graduate school, and rejected by a pet ( I had a cat that really didn't like me). Getting denied from your dream school is never enjoyable and isn't fun, but it is a really important life lesson. It will hurt and you may feel lost, but you are strong because of it. Learning how to cope with rejection by keeping things in perspective is perhaps one of the most important life lessons a person can learn. You don't want to be 40 years old and be throwing a temper tantrum because you lost at something. By keeping things in perspective and looking at rejection as a learning experience that will benefit you in the long run is the best and most mature way to approach rejection.