Students · Imposter Syndrome
The Fear That You Got In by Accident
Almost everyone around you is quietly convinced they're the one exception who doesn't belong.
Imposter syndrome is the persistent feeling that your success is due to luck, timing, or a mistake in the admissions process, rather than genuine ability — and the specific cruelty of it is that it tends to strike hardest in exactly the people who are most capable, because capable people tend to be more aware of everything they don't yet know.
One of the most consistent findings about imposter syndrome is also the most reassuring: it's extremely common, especially in competitive or unfamiliar environments, which means most of the people around you convinced everyone else belongs and only they're faking it are, statistically, wrong about that in exactly the same way you are. Everyone is doing some amount of confident-looking guessing.
Imposter syndrome doesn't mean you don't belong. It usually means you're paying enough attention to notice how much there still is to learn — which, ironically, is often a sign you belong exactly where you are.