Fun with Rejection Letters
Just for fun, I thought I’d share a story from about two and a half years ago.
In 2007, I was applying to get into grad school. I sent out applications to a bunch of schools. There were about three that I REALLY wanted to get into. They were perfect for me!
Unfortunately, they did not see things the same way.
I got rejected from all three of the schools that I desperately wanted to get into.
So, figuring I had nothing left to lose, I decided to play the “smart ass” card. I wrote rejections letters to their rejection letters. I wrote something to the effect of:
Thank you for submitting your rejection to my application for admission to your school. However, I have received many rejection offers from other universities, and it is my regret to inform you that I cannot accept all rejections submitted to me this year. I will be attending your school this autumn. Please send all relevant enrollment materials to me at [my address].
If you feel particularly strongly about rejecting me, I highly encourage you to submit another rejection application next year. I often favor applicants that submit a second time.
-Clayton
I got an exciting sense of glee out of sending these letters out. I must be honest, that a part of me hoped that they would be impressed by my unconventional nature and reconsider my application. That didn’t happen though. In fact, nothing happened. I got no responses what so ever.
So, logically, I decided to send out another letter.
I have not received a response from you regarding the letter I sent you on March 3rd. I can only assume that you have fully accepted me into your graduate program and that I will receive all relevant enrollment materials at the new student orientation meeting this August.
Thank you, I look forward to my time at [university's name].
-Clayton
Now things started to get fun! Two of the schools continued to ignore me.
But one responded.
It was clear that the director of admissions was uncertain about whether or not I was joking around or just an idiot. Using every ounce of tact that he could muster, he explained that he had indeed received both of my letters and that I could not attend the school. Then he just gave the usual lines about “limited space in the program” and “you are strongly encouraged to apply next year.”
Content at forcing them to respond to my asinine letters, I decided to throw in the towel and keep this from becoming a running gag.
Moral of the story: Have fun with things, especially if you’ve already been rejected. You’ve got nothing to lose. The worst that can happen is you get a laugh out of it.
November 6th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Lol, this story made me laugh
. I have a friend who was looking for a work and I told him (for joke) to go in one office and tell that he was starting to work there the next day. He didn’t do that but it would have been fun 
November 6th, 2009 at 11:49 am
@Oscar
Yeah, that would have been fun! I actually tried rejecting rejections letters last summer too when I was looking for a summer job. After one company held off on telling me I didn’t get the job for over a month, I wrote them up a letter explaining to them that I would indeed be beginning my employment with them on June 1st. They didn’t take things as lightly as the departments of admissions at the universities…
November 8th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Clayton – THIS IS HYSTERICAL. This is exactly the type of thing I always think about doing, but never follow through with. Fantastic! The other week, for example, I was walking in NYC with a friend, past a crowded outdoor restaurant, and I said, “I wonder what would happen if we just stopped, dropped and started doing push-ups right here.” Naturally, my friend did just that. No one, of course, even batted an eyelash but it’s those types of things that I really get a kick out of! It’s healthy not to take ourselves so seriously, and I think everyone could benefit from a little dose of foolishness.
Thanks for sharing this!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:40 am
That reminds me of one of Tim Ferriss’ “comfort challenges” in his book. The one where you lie down in public. I’ve never tried that out myself, but I’ve done plenty of other things in my life in the hopes of destroying my ego. I think I’m getting an idea for a blog post…
PS: I dig your blog!