Balancing the Universe

My son got his first college rejection last night. Yes, it was from Binghamton, the most affordable "Public Ivy" in the nation, which fielded 30,000 apps for 2,000 spots this year. Even for out-of-staters, the tuition is only eleven thousand, and for us in-staters, my boy could have enrolled for the eminently reasonable price tag of six thousand. But it was not to be.

My son said he didn't mind getting rejected. He noted that the letter was gracious and "let us down easy" and he hadn't wanted to go there anyway. (But later, I heard him tell his friend on the phone, "Binghamton can blow." So it did sting a little.)

My husband says it's good for him to get rejected somewhere after eleven straight acceptances from other schools. He says it brings a balance to things.

I say if they didn't accept my boy then they didn't see what was special in him, so why would I want to entrust him to them anyway?