<p>Right now I go to a public high school in a suburban area that isn't very academically challenging. At my school, I'm considered the best academically and the most well rounded in terms of extracurricular activities and whatnot. However, I realize that right now I'm a big fish in a small pond... </p>
<p>Next year I hope to attend Wellesley and I'll probably become a smaller fish in a larger pond... I don't know how I'll handle not being the best anymore.</p>
<p>Any interesting stories or advice to share?</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation when I moved between freshman and sophomore year of high school. I went to a really easy high school in Colorado, took a courseload that looked absurdly advanced, and was ranked at the top of my class at the end of the first year. On top of that, I was actually bored. It became obvious that the low-performing high school didn’t suit my needs, so my parents researched heavily and moved just so I could get a better education at a high school with much more opportunities.</p>
<p>So, after the move, I was basically on the other end of the spectrum. I actually had to work for my grades, and a large chunk of students performed better than me.</p>
<p>It was difficult at first, but I eventually adjusted. I started gaining real friends as I met people who were at the same level of intelligence. In absolute terms, I didn’t become worse; I actually learned more and grew as a person from that experience.</p>
<p>Then, when it came to college, the same experience repeated, perhaps even more intensely. I met some really amazing people and got motivation to do better. One of the quotes at a freshman orientation that I remember to this day is something among the lines of: “Your GPA will be much lower. Get used to it.”</p>
<p>In summary, you’ll be fine as long as you reassure yourself about your self-worth and use it as an opportunity to grow. If you do anything useful with your life, you will face similar experiences at several points.</p>
<p>The worst that can happen is to finish your first semester of college with a 4.0.</p>
<p>I have two friends who were the superstars of their high schools and entered colleges with the “It’s okay and to be expected that I won’t be #1 anymore.” attitude we like to preach to incoming college students. First semester went by, they put some effort into their classes but didn’t insist on perfection, and to much surprise ended up with a 4.0 semester GPA and professors praising them for their performance.</p>
<p>All the praise from college professors seems to have re-activated their “gotta be the best at everything” mindset from high school. Unfortunately, college is a lot harder than high school and that mindset took a toll on their college experience. Being best in every class was a full-time endeavor that didn’t leave much time for social activities. It also caused them super-much stress. They couldn’t allow themselves to ask for help (“showing weakness”) but turning in less-than-perfect work was unacceptable too.</p>