The college admissions process is a lot like eHarmony. You create a summary of your­self and who you are, send it out, and hope to find a match. Both processes, on the surface, promise everlasting happiness. And in both processes, there is an overbearing pressure to appear perfect.

With online dating, you have to carefully plan out everything you post so that you get the most matches possible. And at Langley, the pressure to be perfect–that is, to have a 4.5 GPA, 2200 SAT score, and stel­lar extracurriculars—is equally oppressive. If you have anything less than the “norm,” which at Langley isn’t normal at all, you feel unqualified. Plus, getting into college is ev­erything in this area. It’s all about where you’re going, the brand name of your school.

On eHarmony, everybody is put­ting their best foot forward, so you might feel like you are pale in comparison. And similarly, when you’re talking to your peers at Langley it seems like everyone has a higher GPA than you or a higher SAT score, and everyone has an opinion about the qualifica­tions necessary for every school.

In the same way that there are 60 year old men using photos of Tom Cruise on eHarmony, the college admissions process can be similarly disappointing. The re­jection letter will sting just like your ego would if you went on the date with the aforementioned “Tom Cruise.”

After the initial shock, you still have to make a deci­sion that unfortunately does not include the school of your dreams. At this point, you have a choice. You can mourn for the rest of your life and secretly cry alone in your bed at night. However this will not make the col­lege come back to you like a weepy ex-boy­friend. The other op­tion is to get off your high horse and get over it.

Even though there is the risk of rejection, you have to extend yourself beyond what you think will be successful and you have to take risks. There won’t always be a payoff, but you will eventually find a match.