A wall at affluent Newton South High School has become an exhibit of college denial letters, a catharsis for one of the most anxious populations around.

The Globe reports that, "With each punch of the stapler, each slam of his fist, [student Kellen Mandehr] won a small measure of payback. And a large measure of liberation." As the annual reports from elite schools of "lowest admissions rate ever!" come out, the wall is an oasis of solidarity and sensitivity in the brutal (and very expensive) process of sorting out the next four years of a young life.

It also reminded this Bostonist of an unbelievable conversation he overheard at a charity fund-raising event last year. A father asked his daughter, who must have been about ten, where she wanted to go to college. She said Georgetown, and then quickly asked her father whether he thought she would get in. Ten-year-olds are already worried about getting in to their dream school!

The father's reply only added to the insane pressure. He told her: of course you can get in to Georgetown, but you could go somewhere better. To which the girl replied, "But daddy, didn't mommy go to Georgetown?" He admitted that she had, but for grad school, which is something different entirely.

Students of Newton South: Bostonist assures you that life goes on. Embrace the wall of rejection and have a great four (or five or six) years wherever you go. And study abroad. And wear shower shoes.

Image of one of the gates to Harvard by flickr user AntyDiluvian tagged "bostonist." For the full size click here.