<p>Students at Yale are no better than the top students at your local high school. If you can compete well against the top students at your local high school (the fact that you got into Yale), you should be fine at Yale.</p>
<p>I went to Yale in 1978. I came from a public school in DC and was the “most likely to succeed”. I felt very intimidated when I first got to Yale. I wondered how so many of the kids were so well read, travelled, etc. Now that I have a high school junior daughter at an elite school in DC, I see how they knew those things based on the kind of education she is receiving.</p>
<p>However, I did arrive at Yale with the ego that gave me the unmitigated nerve to apply there in the first place. I decided I was not going to fail. You will quickly find out that Yalies are just normal kids. Some may be super smart, but a lot of times these genius types are very unhappy. Being a more well rounded student that enjoys all the fantastic things that Yale has to offer will make you much happier in the long run. </p>
<p>Also, though I may have graduated “thank the Lawdy” not summa cum laude, my Yale diploma only says YALE and no one cares 30 years later what my class ranking was. I did go on to a great graduate program and am doing fine now - hence the money to put my kid in an elite high school.</p>
<p>Also, stop worrying about “upper level courses”. You won’t be taking those freshman year anyway and by the time you do, you will be beyond the fear stage and know the lay of the land.</p>
<p>Congratulations - Yale does not make many mistakes. They have a graduation rate of almost 99%.</p>
<p>Toni
Yale Class of 1982</p>
<p>I went to an “Exploring College Options” program yesterday and, while Yale wasn’t there, the college representatives (Harvard, Duke, Upenn, etc.) seemed to emphasize the fact that all of the staff is there to help you succeed. Take your acceptance to mean that they recognize your capabilities, and that they’ll make the most of them. My guess is you’re just stressed out about everything anyway and feeling overwhelmed, so don’t worry!</p>
<p>Yale is my top choice for next year… We’ll see what happens :/</p>