The answer is: Learn from this opportunity, reevaluate his options, and apply to his second and third choices.
After receiving the denial, Ralph need to analyze what might cause the denial and try to fix that before making further move. (For example, the interview might not go really well or Ralph made a lot of mistakes in the aptitude test). After that , he need to apply to other schools that can match his first choice in terms of quality and re-apply to keep pursuing his dream.