Rejected

I get rejected for the first time from a college. it's cooper Union, I heard from people that's it's extremely hard to get in, their acceptant rate is less than 10 percent, once you get in they cover all the tuition. So i give a try, unfortunately I didn't get in, I'm a little up sad, because I did a lot of work and spend a lot of time to full fill their requirements, I guess I have to learn that sometime in life you're not going to get out what you put in. and I guess maybe because I wasn't good enough, or my SAT score is too low. after few week, I hear from my friends who're also a van leir Scholar and got above 95 GPA better SAT score and amazing portfolio get rejected from Copper Union, It makes me feel better, but now it' makes me wonder what kind of student are looking for and how good are those who get in...