<p>I'm already seeing a difference in the way some (many) people are treating me. It seems like they're actually listening to me more than they did before I got in (it makes me feel slightly awkward, like I have to say something intelligent). Every time I do something stupid (which is quite often) someone invariably comments, "I can't believe Harvard accepted you." When I congratulate my peers on getting into a school, many of them say, "well, it's no Harvard, but I'm still psyched." I don't even know how to respond (I mutter something about Harvard having taken pity on me). Don't get me wrong, I am so blessed and surprised to have gotten in, but I don't want to seem like I'm humble bragging. It's bizarre that some people are treating me like some sort of celebrity. What if I start believing them? </p>
<p>Trust me, the big head you are getting will be popped when you actually get there. There will be many big fish around and you will no longer be special. Not meaning to sound harsh. As a graduate of Yale and a mom of a freshman, I personally know the reaction you get when you tell people that you go to Harvard (or in your case got accepted). Just go with the flow and go onto the Facebook page and talk to the other admits in your same situation. Just my .02 cents.</p>
<p>Don’t know whether your post was tongue in cheek. I surely hope so.</p>
<p>For a while, when people asked me where my son was going to go to college, I would say Yale, followed quickly by something along the lines of: “he won the lottery.” After a while, I quit making excuses for his good fortune, which he entirely deserved. People react to hearing HYPMS et al, but ultimately it’s their issue, not yours. </p>
<p>DS jokes that elsewhere, going to Yale makes him interesting to girls, but that at Yale, he’s just another guy :)</p>
A friend at H was rejected from every grad school he applied to. That brought him down to earth.
For whatever reason, people like to convince themselves that Harvard is unattainable. When someone they know does get admitted, it becomes bigger than life.
Haha this is an interesting post. I wonder how others accepted into HYPSM were treated by their peers. I can imagine it’s quite awkward, especially if your the type of student who isn’t “openly competive” (it’s like people don’t know your “smart” and you’ve snuck up on them). Lol, not speaking from experience, as I’m not a senior yet.
To me, you sound great! Congratulations to you…your hard work and smarts make this well-deserved…and your modesty is nice. 
I’m not applying to colleges yet but I am applying to a few prestigious New England prep schools. People have started to see me a little differently just because I’m applying. But anyway, many people would kill to be in your shoes. Congrats on your acceptance!
Excerpt from Commencement Speech to the Havard Class of 2000 by Conan O’Brien
^^I could see a different response to each of Conan’s situations: “What do you expect? You went to Harvard.”
(An egghead in the real world.)
Humility is where it is at!
A friend whose son went to Harvard calls it dropping the H bomb when telling someone where their child goes to school.
There is a young woman who is a student at Harvard that has done a number of YouTube videos about her Harvard experience. One of her videos is about how she strings people along when they ask her where she goes to school. Something like this…
I go to school on the east coast.
Well, actually in the Northeast.
Well, specifically in Massachusetts.
In Boston.
Not really Boston, actually in Cambridge.
I go to Harvard, have you heard of it?
Congratulations on your acceptance! It’s a wonderful place where you will have remarkable opportunities.
Best Wishes!
@Tperry1982 it’s easier to admit these things anonymously on CC than on the admitted students’ FB page. In all honesty it’s not going to my head at all. In fact I feel more like a fraud, really. I think I got in because I really knew how to play the game. Also, I’m convinced I took a spot from someone else who I’m sure would do much more (for the world) with this opportunity than I think I ever will. I’m worried I’m going to be this huge disappointment to everyone who will now expect so much more from me. I wish I could feel wonderful about this “achievement,” and I know so many would take my place in a heartbeat, but I’m feeling stressed and anxious. Sorry to sound ungrateful and whiny!
Everything you wrote in Post #11 sounds like the kind of stuff my daughter felt for months. She just finished her first semester and did very well. She belongs at Harvard, and so do you.
@arwarw That’s an awesome excerpt haha. I’m gonna try to find and watch that speech on Youtube. I don’t think I’ll ever see the end of those “You got into Harvard?” jokes hahaha. I love a good teasing, though. Those jokes usually aren’t intended to be too harsh.
Idk. I got accepted and don’t feel like my head has grown… I know I still have to work hard, the same way that I did to get in.
@Regurge01 - Every student that gets into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford feels the same way. Or if they don’t, they are in for a rude awakening when they get on campus freshman year. Each of these schools has a near perfect retention rate for Freshmen. They very rarely make mistakes. When I got there in 1978 from my not so good public school, I was way out of my league. First semester was a killer. I persevered, hit my stride, went on to get a Masters degree and I am doing fine. My D, who went to a cushy private HS, had her moments during the first months (though not so much about schoolwork), but is doing fine now.
You did not take anyone’s spot. That spot is yours and you earned it or else you would not be there. There are not any charity cases there. Also, I am sure there are kids on the FB page that are just as nervous as you are. Be a trailblazer and be the first person to bring it up. You will be surprised how many others will respond they are feeling the same way.
Now - go forth and enjoy!! You are a part of a select few. Doesn’t mean you are “better” than those that did not get in, just that for whatever reason, the AdComs felt that you “fit” into the Class of 2019. No way to know why and so there’s no way to justify it to yourself or anyone else.
Welcome to the Ivy League (though you picked the wrong school)!!
@Tperry1982 you are a gentlewomen and a scholar!
Tperry1982 has stated it perfectly in my opinion. You deserve to be there and you are not alone in your concerns, which is perfectly normal. Our daughter just completed her first semester at Harvard, she had come from a very small High School that is located in a rural community, not a feeder school by any stretch of the imagination. She loves it there and is doing wonderfully. I anticipate your experience will be the same. Best Wishes!
^^I wonder if there is a problem for some kids who made it through until college on natural smarts finding they have to work hard for the first time in their academic lives–and not having yet developed the skills to do so.
latichever, I am sure this is the case for some of the students, although I find it hard to imagine. These kids have to be so across the board strong that I believe it would be really hard to coast. Beyond pure grades and standardized test scores, you have the recommendations, the EC’s, the various types of awards and recognition, the demonstration of character etc.
Things did not come easy for our daughter, she had to work hard and apply herself. I used to sit for hours with her at our dining room table to provide her with company and moral support. I would tell her that her having to work like she did was a blessing because she was developing an ethic and she would know what to do if any of her studies ever became difficult.
I was amazed and continue to be amazed at how many things have to come together to be accepted at the most selective schools. We are incredibly thankful that she is there. She loves it and that is what every parent wants for their child.