<p>So I've just been admitted to college with all sorts of scholarships, research opportunities, honors programs and so on. I've always been quite ahead of the pack in high school academically (God knows not athletically). Yet, when I was in Freshman orientation the other day, I started feeling really, really inadequate. The people I was with were so accomplished and seemingly brilliant which was in stark contrast to "top students" in high school. I'm starting to feel like I somehow gamed the system to get where I am today.</p>
<p>My ego has suddenly dropped knowing that I have to now compete with this new group of people to achieve my life goals. I used to feel like anything is possible. Has anyone else gotten this feeling when they entered college?</p>
<p>How accomplished can freshmen possibly be? What were some of their accomplishments? Spelling bees, volunteer work, captain of the manchasingball team, the usual?</p>
<p>Think if you were still competing against the people you were used to in high school, now that you know who’s out there to compete with. Would you feel as accomplished settling for just beating your former competition? Would you feel as prepared for the real world had you not already gotten a feel for the competition you’re up against as you strive to achieve your goals? You got in – you deserve to be there. You might want to look back at your own resume and transcript and see what it was that got you to where you are; I’m sure if you’re up against that stiff of competition, you must have accomplished something pretty noteworthy yourself. :)</p>
<p>Besides, unless you’re in the same program as them, or you’re graded on a curve, you’re not competing against them; you’re just challenging yourself to do your best, for your own sake. Don’t sweat it about the others; they’re probably as intimidated as you are. Just do your best and make the most of your experience, and don’t feel like you need to be the best in everything, you just need to be the best YOU can be.</p>
<p>I can’t say I got the same feeling at my school, initially; I went there for the scholarship, not the prestige, and my classmates were rather disappointing, if anything. Later, though, I found my true competition within my major, and it motivated me to work harder. I hope you’ll find that your experience is similar. :)</p>
<p>Internships, research, incredibly high SAT, awards at math competitions etc…</p>
<p>I smoked weed regularly. That’s the only thing I’ve done that they haven’t. So, you didn’t feel inferior at all when you entered college?</p>
<p>Well I’ve never drank or done any drugs period, so I don’t know how that affects one’s confidence, but:</p>
<p>— You got into the same school so apparently their SAT scores were uselessly high.
— Math competitions aren’t really relevant to any job prospects that I can think of.
— You’ll have plenty of time for internships and the more recent they are the more relevant they are on a resume.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m just being overly utilitarian, but I thought the point of all of those things was to get into the college you wanted. If you got in, then what’s the problem?</p>
<p>You’re in a much better situation than someone who shows up for college and thinks “Oh man, this is it? These people are just like the bums in high school…”. Talk about discouraging…</p>
<p>Yes, I suppose you have a point. The higher intellectual level here is encouraging in some twisted sense. But man, I still can’t help but feel I’m terribly misplaced in this whole thing. Accidentally gamed the system? I don’t know.</p>
<p>Get used to that feeling, because that’s what adulthood is like. Every time you run across a new thing in life, you’re going to feel like you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing and must have tricked everyone else into letting you get where you are. The thing is that everyone else also feels that way.</p>
<p>Exactly what discoinferno said: it’s really disappointing to be the undeniable top of the heap in your courses in college. The rest of their advice is top-notch, too.</p>
<p>I think you should go in with the best outlook you can muster. If it doesn’t work out, you can always transfer out. And stop smoking the weed, if you haven’t, as I think it’s been linked to feelings of inadequacy - I’m not saying it’s the sole factor, but it’s not likely to help your mood.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have “stage fright”. You’ve done perfect, practiced, and got the “role”, but you’re scaring yourself at the last minute and hyperventilating. </p>
<p>Just know that you worked for your spot in college and you’ve done your best. You need to trust yourself and shine.</p>
<p>“Get used to that feeling, because that’s what adulthood is like. Every time you run across a new thing in life, you’re going to feel like you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing and must have tricked everyone else into letting you get where you are. The thing is that everyone else also feels that way.”</p>
<p>Well said!</p>