<p>Hey guys!
So my sister (sister 2) just got into Harvard SCEA, and obviously I'm thrilled for her! I have two older sisters and the eldest one (sister 1) just recently graduated from Yale, so both of my siblings went to top notch ivy league universities. I am so proud of both of them and wouldn't trade their happiness for anything, but as a junior in high school on the verge of beginning the college process, I can't help but feel immense pressure to get into an Ivy League school of a similar caliber.
The desire to go to an Ivy League was never forced on me, as Yale has been my dream for years, I'm just worried that I won't be able to get in like my sisters have.
The thing is, Sister 2 and I have always seen Sister 1 as a brilliant idol of sorts, the type of overachiever who had everything going for her. But now, with Sister 2 accepted into Harvard, I am kind of all alone looking up in wonder at my sisters at two of the most competitive universities in the world.
Any advice on how to bear this crazy pressure and not let it ruin my college process?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Be yourself who cares what others think</p>
<p>It would be hard not to care. Perhaps, search out your college choices beyond Yale and Harvard…just because they are so competitive to get into. Are your talents, academically and with EC’s putting you on track for a super selective school? Either way, try to stay calm , focus on your day to day and make sure you pursue things that you truly enjoy without over thinking any of it.</p>
<p>I wonder if your teachers, fellow classmates and your family expect you to follow suit (to an ivy).</p>
<p>Oh for sure they do. If I had a nickel for every time someone said “Oh my god, when you go to Princeton you’ll be a complete set!” Growing up in a family with two children going to top notch ivies means that I have always had a certain amount of academic pressure put on me, but you know my sisters are truly exceptional, not like they founded charities to save African children, but they were genuinely interesting and accomplished candidates and I don’t know if I have the ECs, Scores, and Grades to get in.
Anyway, its just incredibly stressful. And when you add it to the normal stress of junior year, its driving me crazy…</p>
<p>HS junior here. I’ve felt a similar pressure from my siblings as well. One ended up at Swarthmore, the other at Cambridge (churchill scholar) both because they hauled ass in school and made it look like a breeze. Everyone is super supportive of them and all, but one day I had to realize that I wasn’t them and I wasn’t going to take the same path necessarily. There’s lots of way to be successful, Ivies are one way, but who knows… you might find your own…</p>