From the Daily Northwestern, I'm Lenna Peterson, and this is episode 8 of Digital Diaries, a weekly podcast following what students are doing and asking two students one question about life in Northwestern. For most college students, imposter syndrome, or a feeling of self-doubt, is not an uncommon phenomenon. For freshmen specifically, it can be hard to adjust to college life while grappling with these feelings of being out of place or less talented than your peers. This week's question is, how does imposter syndrome impact your life and how do you combat it at Northwestern?
One of the things that I don't think people talk about very often when applying at Northwestern or first coming in Northwestern is that the clubs here are very competitive. They're very selective, so a lot of kids come in and they have these ideas about academics and imposter syndrome there, whether they go to apply for clubs, and there's just more rejection than even in the college application process. That's communication sophomore Jeff Snettiger. Snettiger describes how the unspoken pressure to succeed as a freshman can make it hard to adjust to college life, especially when it comes to competitive academic programs or student organizations that require applications or auditions in order to get involved.
And I think I really felt that imposter syndrome because I had all of these, I had a lot of hopes in certain clubs that just didn't pan out the way I anticipated them to, which was very normal. It's very normal for that to happen. It happens to everybody here, but that can really add to the imposter syndrome because people talk about it and it just feels like you're not doing well enough in this environment that you just don't feel accepted, I guess. Weinberg freshman Kelsey Lee shares Snettiger's sentiments.
I feel like it's all about managing expectations and knowing that most of us came from a high school where we were at the top and it's okay to be average here. Although these feelings make it difficult to acclimate to student life, there are ways to navigate imposter syndrome and normalize failure. High pressure environments such as college often force students to aim to perfection and adopt an all or nothing mindset. Snettiger highlighted how normal it is for students to face rejection or struggle academically throughout their college experience.
The fact that you were admitted to Northwestern means that you are good enough to be here, you're smart enough, you're capable enough, and if you were doing not great in a class or if you didn't get into a club that you were hoping for, all of that's normal, it's not an indicator that you are less than. Lee also emphasized the importance of a mindset switch, especially when it comes to difficult classes or other academic programs. Ultimately, acknowledging that imposter syndrome plays a major role in the transition to college and beyond is something that both Jeff and Kelsey believe is important. It's such a big life change to come to a university, to like leave home and live on your own with all of these people around an academic environment.
And imposter syndrome is a very real, very common result of that big life shift. And I think that it's really necessary and important to just acknowledge it and talk about it and let everybody know, everybody who's going through it, that it's something that is totally normal. From the Daily Northwestern, I'm Lenna Peterson. Thanks for listening to another episode of Digital Diaries.
This episode was reported and produced by me, Lenna Peterson. The audio editor of the Daily Northwestern is Lawrence Price. The digital managing editor is Anjalee Matal. And the editor in chief is Jacob Fulton.
Make sure to subscribe to the Daily Northwestern's Podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or SoundCloud to hear more episodes like this next quarter.