'Tis the time of year when universities and colleges across the land bog down Canada Post with thousands of letters to hopeful future students.

Unfortunately, some of those letters are a bit on the thin side, and fall under the category of the dreaded Rejection Letter.

There's just no way around it: rejection letters suck. A place you wanted to spend the next several years at is telling you that they don't want you. Or, at least, that's what they seem to be saying (sometimes, it's more a matter of: "we like you, but we just don't have room for you").

But here's the thing: it's not the end of the world. It is not a negative reflection on your personal character. And it's not even necessarily the end of your chances of attending your first-choice school.

Some steps to take when IWannaGoThere University says no to your application:

• Make sure you read the letter carefully. Don't start freaking out when the first few sentences seem to say you've been rejected - make yourself read the whole thing to ensure you haven't been put on a waiting list. There may be things you need to do to keep your spot on that list, or information you need to find out about your chances of still getting in.

• Identify why you were rejected. You might already have an idea (that D- you got in English probably didn't help), or you might be completely confused. The letter itself may explain that your grades weren't satisfactory, your application was in some way incomplete, or that the school simply didn't have enough room to take everyone, and you didn't quite make the cut. Knowing the whys of your rejection can help you plan your next step.

• Consider contacting the school or faculty admissions office to get some answers. They may not be willing to talk about your specific application, but they can still give you some general idea as to why you might have been rejected. Be polite, refrain from ranting about how wrong they are, and ask for information on whether you can appeal their decision (would improving your grades in summer school help?), how to do better the next time around, when/how you can re-apply, potential program alternatives, and, especially, the program's transfer student requirements.

• Look at whether you still have time to apply to another faculty or program at the same school. If your rejection to a program was based more on limited capacity than on your grades, you may still be able to make it into a separate faculty and then try for a transfer to your first choice next year. That way, you're still attending the school you wanted, you have time to pick-up a lot of the first-year courses that are common between faculties, and you have an 'in' to the school when you re-apply next year (after all, your application will now show you can handle university-level work, and that you're a dedicated student).

• Consider your second or third-choice schools, especially if they've already accepted you. Or, if you hadn't bother applying anywhere else, find out if there's still time/room to apply at another school (check out their websites, or call the admissions office; some schools have open spaces right up until September).

  You may come to love your back-up school - if not, you can simply use it as a stepping stone to your preferred school by trying to transfer there in a future semester. Just make sure you are able to transfer credits from one given school to another before going this route. You should also find out what your first-choice school's policy is on accepting transfer students - are there spaces set aside for them, or are they only accepted if all the new student spots aren't filled?

• If your rejection comes down to seriously lackluster grades (the kind that make it difficult to get accepted anywhere, regardless of whether there's room), or a lack of proper prerequisite courses, you may have to face the fact that you will not be attending university or college next year.

  But, rather than moping around and convincing yourself you're doomed to bag groceries for the rest of your life, use the next several months to make yourself a more desirable applicant for the next time around.

  Go back to high school - improve your grades in courses you did poorly in to better your overall average, or take the prerequisite courses you missed out on the first time.

  If your program required a portfolio or resume of some sort, spend the year beefing it up - freelance for your local newspaper, hone your art skills, or volunteer with an organization related to your field of study.

  One of the best things about having a forced year off from school is that you can also use the time to work and save money for when you do get accepted. That way, you'll be able to start your freshman year off a little bit older and wiser, and, more importantly, with far fewer student loans than some kid straight out of high school.

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