I've been thinking a lot abt grad school applicants. I know from experience that being rejected by a grad school is disappointing and (for me, at the time) a gut punch. But having been on admissions committees, please know that sometimes "your rejection" has nothing to do w you.

First, no school can know enough abt you, even in the best of times, to reject *you* --period. It's hard to do, but please don't tie your self worth to being rejected (or accepted) to grad school (or anything). At best, they can try to assess some measure of your past performance

(and we know those indicators are often biased and discriminatory). Beyond that there are several reasons you may receive a rejection letter that have legitimately nothing to do with you and are driven entirely by internal institutional dynamics. Let's talk about 4 of them.

Non-personal reasons for receiving a rejection letter:
1. Many institutions are in fiscal trouble (esp w Rona). They may not be able to afford stipends. Messy, but true.
2. The person/group you want to work w may not have space/$.
3. Internal infighting or political maneuvering.

Never underestimate petty popping up at any point in the process.
4. More accepted offers in a previous year than they expected.

In these cases, institutions can't take on new folx and so you receive a rejection letter. They don't often disclose details, but it happens A LOT.

Knowing these potential factors for why you might receive a rejection letter doesn't necessarily make it any easier, but I hope it means that once you've had a chance to process you can pivot from "they rejected me" to "not yet" or "not here." You're worth more than any rejection