Imposter Syndrome

It’s not a secret that competition is fierce in graduate school applications. There different profiles of overqualified candidates competing for very limited slots.

If the program you’re applying to is in a top school, the competition becomes even fiercer because everyone wants to go there.

If you like hanging around communities discussing graduate school like subreddits, reading about so many applicants with these shiny profiles might be a lot for you. It could make you feel like you’re not good enough, or that you’re not as good as you think are. That’s when the imposter syndrome starts creeping in on you.

I’ve seen many people on some of the graduate school subreddits I hang out on complain about how they’re tempted to sit the application cycle out because they see people with golden stats/achievements posting about their applications to some of the schools they’re applying to.

These are students with for instance about 4 publications already bagged right from undergrad, a 3.89 GPA out of 4, multiple academic and research awards, extensive research experience, a startup founder, and professors who all have amazing things to say about them. Just listening to the profile description gives you chills.

I think the funniest one I’ve seen was actually on TikTok. An aspiring Msc student was making some banter about how he quoted Malala Yousafzai in his personal statement, only to find out later that Malala is applying to the program as well. Malala might not exactly have the same stats I described above, but anyone that knows Malala will be wise to tell that her application will fly without borders especially for a humanitarian masters program. In his words, “My personal statement had quotes from Malala. Malala’s entire personal statement is a quote from Malala”.😂

Stay out of places that increase your anxiety

I know this sounds corny, but really, it’s that simple. For your own sanity and peace of mind, don’t go where pressure is.😂

As important as it might be to be aware of information and have an idea of the type of applicants you might be competing with, I think we should take caution not to find out too much.

We also need to remember that not everyone is a golden-stat applicant. Sure they exist, but they make up what, 15% of the application pool?

The rest of the candidates, even though outstanding as well, will not be golden-stat: in which case, you stand a better chance of getting in.

Luck (as always) has a small part to play

Most if not all graduate programs, evaluate your application against other applicants’. So luck might play a tiny role in the odds of you getting in.

If for instance you apply in a cycle with less competitive applicants, your chances are higher against one with extremely competitive applicants. Essentially what that means is that you can not tell whether your application is a strong application or not, unless it is compared with that of other applicants in the pool. What is a strong application for this year’s application cycle can be eaten up by better applications in the next cycle, and likewise.

You’re unique and can’t tell exactly what admission comittees are looking for in candidates

Even though admission committees typically tell applicants what they’re looking for in prospective students, you can never be too sure exactly what catches their attention. It could be something you say in your personal statement or statement of purpose that stands out. Perhaps something one of your referees say, even that you’re just a better fit for the program than other top applicants.