Imposter syndrome at IIT—surrounded by JEE toppers, feeling lost

#imposter-syndrome #iit-life #mental-health

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I cleared JEE Advanced and got into IIT Bombay for CS, which was my dream. But now I'm in my first semester and everyone around me seems to have solved problems I've never even seen before. My roommate was AIR 247, and half my batch got 99+ percentile. I'm constantly comparing myself and feeling like I don't belong here, even though I worked hard for two years. Does this feeling ever go away, or did I just get lucky with my rank?

3 Replies

NidhiDSouzaGoa11d ago

This is so common, and I felt exactly the same way my first year at IIT-D. Here's the truth: JEE ranks don't predict who'll do well in college or careers—they predict who solved the most JEE problems efficiently. After first sem, the playing field levels out because you're all learning *new* material together. I finished with an 8.2 CGPA and worked on projects I loved instead of memorizing every concept. My AIR 150 batch-mate dropped out. Focus on your own growth, not their AIR.

HarleenSinghPun11d ago

Thanks for sharing this. I'm in my second sem now and my stack overflow contributions and a small project on GitHub have given me way more confidence than my CGPA ever did. Turns out the 'toppers' are stressed about grades while I'm actually learning things I want to build. It does get better, I promise.

ManojHegdeKar11d ago

You're not alone—I had the exact same feeling. What helped me was realizing that in second year onwards, grades stop being about raw intelligence and start being about consistency and interest. Also, the toppers often stress out the most because they expect themselves to top every subject. Find your niche—maybe DSA, maybe graphics, maybe competitive coding or research. You'll shine there while feeling less pressure.