<p>I am from a low ranking 300++ university which I shall not mention. Somehow I always feel inferior or rather a sense of desperate inferiority when other bioscience students in the labs tell me that they are from ivy leagues or top 10 universities in the world (cambridge, brown, imperial, harvard and so on...). Its like those elite top ranking universities are at the top of the food chain.</p>
<p>I literally feel I am so much weaker compared to them like as though they seems to be superior and gifted in terms of everything. Please note that I am not trying to earn pity points here but this is how I really feel. And sometimes, i feel as though even if I put in all the hardwork and so on, I would probably still be behind them in terms of progression. And somehow I could feel the sense of elitism they have even though when they dun express it. Well I hope I am wrong about this.</p>
<p>One of my school mate working in a top lab is also being snubbed by some elite university scholars so there must be some kind of ongoing politics involved.</p>
<p>Anybody also experiencing the same things as me? How do I overcome this?</p>
<p>Prestige calls Money. And Money calls Prestige. Being from a top university of course enrich your CV and gives you opportunities a lot more than if you’re from no-name school.
Anyway exceptions are round the corner: great research programmes and topics usually come from not so high ranked schools.
But if you feel that’s not your home, you can always try to climb the wall.
Try to do your best and grow as a student and researcher, your efforts won’t be lost.
There’s always a chance to move towards better places.
A friend of mine did his BS in a 200th university. Now he got a RA and a MS/PhD path from a top 5 university.
It’s up to us (and to a bit of luck, anyway).</p>
<p>The further you get from undergraduate, the less the “prestige” (or lack of it) matters. Eventually, all that will matter is where you got your graduate degree. </p>
<p>If your lab mates are talking about their undergraduate institutions, chances are that they are struggling with self-esteem – that is, they feel better about their own setbacks as graduate students if they remind themselves, and others, of their previous achievements. It’s kind of like saying, “I’ve done this before, so I can do it now.” But there’s also an “old boys club” (women now included) of peer institutions. If someone says they went to Ivy League A, then everyone in the room who also went to Ivy Leagues pipes up, and they all feel an instant connection. You can’t get around that. The same thing happens with Big Ten, Seven Sisters, top LACs, and even rival colleges after graduation. My advice is to not take it personally. It has nothing to do with how they view you, only how they see themselves. If they are judging you, as a classmate, it’s because they are snobs or insecure or both. </p>
<p>Just remember that you were ALL accepted into this program as peers. The faculty wouldn’t have accepted you if they didn’t feel you could perform just as well as the guy from Harvard. Yes, if your preparation was not quite as intense, you may have to work a little harder to fill the gaps in your experience, but chances are, you will all be at the same level at the end of the first year. In some ways, it’s like college, with everyone arriving with different levels of preparation. Some struggle at first, while others seem perfect comfortable with college level work. By the end of the first year, people start distinguishing themselves less by their high school preparation and more in line with their ability and work ethic. The kid from the weaker public school can start outperforming the kid from an elite private high school.</p>
<p>Personally, I think you should be extremely proud of your accomplishment of getting into this graduate program from a “no-name” college. It says a lot about your dedication, hard work, ability, and character.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>No one will care about your university in a few years. It will become a meaningless detail.</p></li>
<li><p>You are LETTING yourself feel inferior. Think of the huge advantage they had over you with their elite education, and now they are sitting beside you doing the same work.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Don’t follow anyone’s steps, just make your own footprint in lfe. Colleges are there to give you what you can take from them. At the end, I agree w Mr Arnold, it matters what you do in life</p>
<p>You should realize, too, that they would probably be totally upset if they knew you felt this way. They don’t mean to make you feel bad about yourself, and would look for a way to correct their behavior if they knew what they could do about it.</p>