You haven't mentioned what type of jobs you are applying for, whether or not you are filling out their application, or whether you are bringing in a resume of your own. You also did not mention why you left McDonald's and under what circumstances. Those are kind of important as your past employer may be giving you a negative report.

I've learned in my 14 years in the work force that tenacity and prudent planning go a long way. Are you just dropping the application off, or are you actually handing it to the hiring manager? If you are just handing it in, your application is most likely getting lost, mis-filed or trashed. Especially in a fast food environment. When I was your age, people would hand me an application and it would be on the counter one minute, and gone the next. When I worked retail, people that didn't ask to speak to the manager when dropping off applications were automatically dropped to the back of the stack.

Are you filling out the application to the best of your ability? Because you don't have a lot of experience, what have you done in high school that would demonstrate you have responsibility and dependability? Were you part of the Student Council, or band, or anything that shows you participated or maybe leadership experience? There are usually areas on the application to highlight those things. If your friends are selling themselves and you are not, they will get hired.

Getting a job is easy if you know how to sell your best qualities and attributes. Someone trying to determine whether or not you would work well in their company isn't going to do the work for you. Either you are going to tell them why you deserve the job, or you're not. Maybe your friends were able to relay they were right for the position.

If you have any piercings that could effect the job, Dress nicely and be respectful ;]

No degree and not enough xp