It's not over. I got rejected from nearly everywhere I applied as a freshman, then transferred to Cornell as a Sophomore where I'm now a very happy junior.
Looking back I'm actually very glad I transferred as opposed to entering as a freshman. I've instead taken so much more advantage of opportunities compared to where I went my freshman year (UCLA) after essentially getting to 'restart'.
I did get into UCLA though. I am going to be hearing from Berkeley tomorrow, but I think I'll go to UCLA. I really, really like Los Angeles, and know a lot of security hackers there.
Let me tell you something about college admissions. I felt a lot of pressure to apply to elite schools, and I was rejected by all but one of them. I also got into a well-respected "party school" which would have been perfect for me; besides being tons of fun, on the beach, where one of my best friends from high school was going, plus it had some kick ass programs where you worked closely with professors. I ended up attending the "elite school" so my ego could get some validation of its "Youuuu're smart!!" narrative. It's the only decision I could have made at the time so I try not to beat myself up over it but four years later I know that I would have done things differently.
Let me tell you this, you may find yourself more motivated to do excellent work and learn amazing things if you are a big fish in a small pond.
