People cry because they take it to mean they aren’t as good as they thought they were in other people’s eyes. It’s personal, and really, it’s true, though maybe not for reasons they give credit to (eg college needs a bassoon player and they don’t play the instrument - hence - weren’t selected). It’s the opposite, but same, mental drive that leaves people feeling on a “high” when they get a sincere, “great job, thanks!” out of the blue from someone regarding something they did. It’s human nature.
It’s ok to cry. It can be beneficial to cry, though not everyone needs to. It’s not good to always suppress feelings. It’s far better for one’s health to go with the flow so to speak. Certainly don’t look down on anyone for natural human reactions.
What’s not ok is letting the sadness last for more than a day or week. Everyone fails sometime - even those where one never sees it publicly. No human is perfect. Those who do well in life are those with the grit to move on to Plan B realizing no one is really at the top of the preconceived ladder we mentally make. The “best” life is one where we can be content with what we have. That doesn’t mean not putting in effort for things or to try to make things better, etc. It means not thinking life is done simply because of a failure. At its worst, this can get ugly. Med school Match Day was just held last week. A med school graduate committed suicide due to not matching. My heart goes out to them and their family.
It’s good for everyone to know “failures” happen to everyone at some point and in some way, but life goes on and there are loved ones and friends who care - even if other “loved ones” wrongly put too much blame on the person, which also, unfortunately happens. Give hugs, not blame. Help with Plan B.
No human is perfect. No system is perfect. Crying is fine, but embrace Plan B once you allow yourself to grieve Plan A. Go get ice cream (or similar) to treat yourself to something, then move on knowing life is still out there to be lived.
FWIW, I ended up at my 2nd choice school due to finances and in hindsight, I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. It’s led to great things.