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<p>[Dean</a> Koh’s Welcome Address to New Students | Yale Law School](<a href=“http://www.law.yale.edu/about/2051.htm]Dean”>http://www.law.yale.edu/about/2051.htm)</p>
<p>Its great that you are going in with the attitude that you are going to need to work hard.
Far better position than going in thinking you’ll be the smartest one there and it’ll be a breeze.</p>
<p>It also helps that you already know how to study and work hard, the adjustment will be easier for you than those that hit their first academic brick wall freshman year.</p>
<p>Don’t worry you won’t be surrounded by geniuses, it’s only Yale!
Now if you get admitted to MIT… that’s a different story</p>
<p>Preserve and protect your passion for physics. I completely agree with the poster who said that you should place yourself in the lower level class despite taking AP. in the book outliers 10000 hours is benchmarked for great expertise in an area. Not everybody hits their stride after 500 hours. Maybe it is at 2000 hours. But that should not predict where you will be be at he finish line. Using these numbers as an example of course but they may not be far off. Bottom line is that passion for a field is rare, so keep with it. I would consider projects, readings, self study, summer work etc if you enjoy physics now</p>
<p>Honestly, this is how I feel about all of the Ivy League schools I applied to. The only difference is that I haven’t gotten in yet.</p>
<p>at the risk of sounding trite… you had to work really hard for many years to make yourself even considerable to any Ivy League. My advice is to take a period of time now to give yourself a reboot. There is always something down the road and this seems like a good time to enoy your achievement; like an outsider looking in. Getting in to Yale is no small feat. Congratulations… PS , consider the source of advice you get here. Every age group has its own perspective and that is palpable from the responses here.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that most students that get accepted into Yale feel the same way you do. Heck, I feel that way right now and I’m attending University of MarylandUC trying to transfer out!</p>
<p>Congratulations on getting accepted to Yale!</p>
<p>Congratulations on Yale!</p>
<p>You mentioned you were worried about having to work hard in HS. I think this is the exact thing that will make you successful at Yale. Many students show up having never learned study skills and breezing through HS, thinking they’re the best of the best, and then reality hits.</p>
<p>It’s those that developed study skills and realize they’re going into an environment where others are as intelligent and competent as they are that tend to do really well, at whatever college they attend.</p>
<p>I think, too, that your willingness to assess yourself honestly is a great asset. Denying problems can be the worst problem of all. If you should happen to struggle (which may or may not be the case) you will have the ability to take note of the issue and make changes to improve your situation. </p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that, in general, human beings don’t know what they like; they like what they know. The more you “know” Yale (by being there and learning first-hand), the more you will feel comfortable there.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance!</p>
<p>Don’t worry, from what I understand, they give away many A’s at Yale. I mean it’s not like Cornell or anything.
Ok, now for the serious answer.</p>
<p>While you may run into some genius at Yale (perhaps a professor, perhaps a student), they all won’t be Einstein or even Mark Zuckerberg. Plenty of very smart, hardworking types who excel at a bunch of stuff, who will go on to be “ordinary” lawyers, doctors, investment professionals, etc. They won’t all be Nobel prize winners. </p>
<p>It is nice that you are interested in studying a science like physics in college, since that is not something that would captivate most people. I think you should be realistic and pretty much know that if the college course is worthwhile, it probably will throw complex things at you. I woman I know, really incredible, won a great fellowship after going to an Ivy. She had felt awful that she got 80% in one of her freshman science courses. The average or mean was something like 40% on that test. So yes, she did incredibly well, but even she didn’t know everything on the test. Some tests are designed like that so that the truly outstanding students will be identified.</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Thank you again, everybody. It’s relieving to know that students at Yale actually have to work for their grades. I was under the impression that every kid was some sort of prodigy. I’m sure some are, but I think the vast majority are just hardworking! In regard to physics, I was feeling awfully depressed about my grade so I studied my butt off for our most recent test. I got 100% on it 
I think if I put in the work, I will be able to succeed. Thank you all again, you’re wonderful.</p>
<p>I didnt get the reason of mentioning [Impostor</a> syndromel](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imposter_syndrome]Impostor”>Impostor syndrome - Wikipedia) hereee :)</p>
<p>^Why not? Impostor syndrome is what the OP seems to be displaying.</p>
<p>I write as someone who went to Yale myself, and whose eldest son was also admitted to the class of 2017.</p>
<p>Yes, it was unsettling at first to realize there were people in all my classes that I had no hope of keeping up with. But I chose Yale because it seemed a place where the students didn’t need to spend time bashing each other in the head about how brilliant they were. </p>
<p>I found it to be much more supportive and much less competitive than high school. Truthfully, the work my first semester was not much harder than my high school, and I was in Directed Studies!</p>
<p>Take it easy, and you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>My entire life has been not feeling good enough.</p>
<p>Even when I have “accomplishments” I don’t see them as such. I see it as “Oh, anyone can do this, I’m not special. It was just easy.” No one can tell me differently. I know what you’re feeling. :</p>
<p>But continue to work hard at Yale (so jelly of you, btw :3) and you’ll succeed.</p>
<p>I’m sure that so many people accepted into these prestigious colleges feel that way… but I bet it’s going to be an amazing opportunity to meet so many people like yourself! And if they accepted you, then you must be pretty good! ;)</p>
<p>Oh, honey. As everyone else has agreed, most people at Yale feel this way. The key is just not to let that feeling consume your life 
just kind of do your thing without worrying about whether or not you’re the best (because yeah, chances are you aren’t. so what?) and everything will turn out fine. You should also remember that people you meet at Yale won’t know anything about your high school grades, how/when you were admitted, or what awards you did and didn’t receive unless you choose to tell them. It’s a blank slate, and everyone (rightly) kind of just assumes that everyone else is pretty hardworking and/or smart and/or competent. I got deferred EA and now I’m a second semester freshman suddenly discovering that people know who I am and like the work I’m doing at Yale. People even ask me to do MORE things, for/with them! It’s a weird but definitely gratifying feeling, and I’m sure the same thing will happen to you, as it happens to most everyone. So, chilllllll. This is totes normal, and YOU are totes normal, so get pumped for Bulldog Days (where you can meet a bunch of other normal/anxious/excited prefrosh)!</p>
<p>I studied physics in college and let me tell you, it’s one of those subjects that require talent. Hard work isn’t enough in physics. Maybe do engineering. It’s less intellectual, similar and has a better payoff in the end. For engineering, although it does require analysis, it’s more of a fomulaic cookbook recipe approach. In physics, you have to be creative and smart. Also, upper div physics is on a completely different level than AP.</p>
<p>I remember years ago running my loop around Yale during freshman move-in. There was a pretty young student at first looking confident unpacking with her family. On my return walk to cool down,I had to slow down because of traffic and saw her crying hysterically with her friends/family. I thought she was going to miss them, but as I walked by, I heard her saying she didn’t belong here, she was scared, etc. They all reassured her she would be fine and I know I know she was but she also felt scared.
Don’t compare, do your best and you will shine. Yale students are very friendly overall.</p>
<p>Most of the responses here seem to focus on the OP’s concern about “being surrounded by geniuses” issue and which, rightly so, many have tried to minimize as a concern.</p>
<p>The OP"s other concern is that given that he/she is intending to major in physics the fact that he/she is not “breezing through” is a different concern altogether which has nothing to do with the ability or genius level of the other Yale students. As Equipotential is alluding to from his own experience, if physics is a struggle in HS (meaning really having to study hard for tests) then physics in undergrad and graduate school may be beyond the OP’s “talent” level. I know it sounds harsh but better to be cognizant of that possibility rather than not being open minded about other options. The great thing about Yale is that no matter what you end up majoring in, you wil be surrounded by the best of the best - students and faculty.</p>