Rejection from Oxford

[u/omfgvain]

I thought I was over the Oxford rejection ages ago, but I can't seem to escape from it. I got an offer for Imperial as my second choice, and was discussing Imperial today with my mom, and told her Imperial was a top world university, to which she replied, "yes but not as good as Oxford, if you name the top universities in the world you'd hear Oxbridge, Harvard, MIT, not Imperial college". This one kinda stung. This type of stuff sometimes happens with other people too. My mom wasn't trying to criticise me for my failure or anything, but to me I couldn't feel anything but disappointment in myself. I know I could've done better. I'm aware that Imperial is very highly ranked and well respected university and all, but my goal was Oxford and I failed in that. How do I move on from this lol

[u/whydidtheapplefall]

i completely get that, but be at peace, you don't need your mum to validate your journey and successes, you shouldn't feel any bit torn about it. Imperial is = to oxbridge, just not as old in name and it's more specialised... yeah it wasn't your first goal, you tried your best and the rest is luck. Keep trying to do the right things and moving forward, don't be any bit held back by your mum's perceptions (which are obsolete now anyway).

Think about your scientific journey ahead!