The A Level marathon is often a rocky road and can get overwhelming when we stop and look at how much we have on our plate 😵💫 as if the academics aren’t difficult enough, balancing your ECAs while working on university research and applications can be difficult to manage 🫠
At the peak of such overwhelming feelings, we may begin to fall into the cycle of negative self-talk 🤬 These often sound like an endless echo of:
“I’m not smart enough to get into this college.”
“I can’t get good grades - never have, never will.”
“I’m just not good enough to…”
It’s upsetting, but many of you are probably thinking — these phrases are too familiar. When we see ourselves in a situation that is stressful, unfamiliar, or overwhelming, our mind’s first instinct is to protect ourselves 🛡️ It does this by convincing itself that your goals are impossible to achieve, and thus, veers you away from goals that seem too ambitious.
You tell yourself you’re not good enough, before your grades (or someone else) gets a chance to say that to you.
In short, you begin to experience Imposter Syndrome.
First investigated by psychologists, Dr Pauline Clance and Dr Suzanna Imes, imposter syndrome (or imposter phenomenon) is described as “
a psychological experience of intellectual and professional fraudulence” (1978). People who experience imposterism believe that their abilities are seen as greater than they actually are, and they fear being evaluated on these abilities 🫣 With all the nerves building up, we begin to either procrastinate or over-prepare. Both are a result of imposter syndrome.
This is when you begin to doubt your accomplishments and capabilities, and fear being exposed as a fraud - e.g., not being the ‘bright student’ others say you are. This feeling can also lead you to believe that your personal successes are a result of external factors like luck 🍀 setting aside the possibility that you put in the work and the results are paying off.
As a student, you may have experienced imposter syndrome at many stages: when you began A Levels, when you received your grades, when you were awarded for performing well in sports and debate competitions — you may have felt that the experience and the environment you were in was not a result of your effort and commitment, but rather it was luck, fate doing you a favour, or someone overestimating your abilities.
According to research, “individuals with achievement-orientation, who have perfectionist expectations for themselves and work in highly competitive environments like academic settings, report higher tendencies of IP.” Research also suggests that “publish or perish” academic culture, characterised by high stakes exams increases imposter syndrome considerably 🤯 Sounds a lot like A Levels, right?
These feelings of fraudulence are common among many people. Since we do not often see others’ struggles and problems, we have a difficult time assessing how hard others have to work to get to where they are, which leads us to think of others as a lot more highly than ourselves.
It is with thoughts like these that we often resist applying to universities, and programs that pique our interest — simply because we make a wrongful self-assessment: that we are not deserving enough to even try 😕
Imposter syndrome can feel like parading around with a mask of your achievements and capabilities, all the while thinking that it is only a matter of time before people find out your ‘truth’; that you are not as smart as they may have thought, not as deserving of an opportunity, or that you are simply not enough 🫥
You can see, now, how negative self-talk plants the seed which grows into imposter syndrome.
When we see ourselves as imposters, as frauds - our brain searches for evidence to confirm these thoughts. You may take one bad test out of others you did relatively better at to say “See — I knew I wouldn’t get it.” Not only is it frustrating to have a constant stream of negative thoughts in your brain, it makes day-to-day living extremely difficult 😣 So let’s talk about how we can manage it.
There’s no guarantee that feelings of imposter syndrome ever fully go away. This experience and the associated feelings actually increase when you achieve more. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to manage the experience and learn to enjoy your own accomplishments 🤩
It’s a common experience, but we often believe we’re the only ones suffering from imposter syndrome. This is far from true. In fact, one of the best ways to manage our own feelings of fraudulence is to talk about it.
We may avoid reaching out for feedback on our work, worried that it would confirm our fears about ourselves and performance. Even when we hear positive feedback about ourselves, it often feels in-genuine or forced.
However, if we were to hear that our mentor, our friends, or someone we admire has also experienced similar thoughts and fears, it can help relieve and manage our own feelings of insecurity. When we learn of how common it can be, we can be more receptive to accepting feedback and appreciation for our accomplishments.
2. Shift your Language ❤️
When thoughts of doubt and insecurity creep in, it’s important to pause and reflect on what we’re thinking.
Albert Bandura states that humans have a “self-system” that lets them exercise a measure of control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions, and also provides individuals with the ability to change their environments and influence their actions.
Thus, the beliefs we have about ourselves are key 🔑 It is through self-reflection that individuals evaluate their own experiences and thought processes. These thoughts affect the way people make choices.
So, by shifting our internal language and how we perceive our abilities in situations, we would be better able to fight off feelings of fraudulence.
It’s important to acknowledge that you’ve gotten this far because of your efforts and achievement. It’s not just luck — you deserve to be here.
You can use evidence of your accomplishments to help shift your language. If you feel you are not smart enough for A Levels, find evidence 🔍 that you are prepared to complete this journey - you’ve been admitted to an A Level college, you may have already passed your AS exams, or college midterm — this is all evidence that you’re ready to tackle A Levels and smart enough to complete it
3. Document your Achievements 🏅📂
It can really help you visualise your progress of your efforts and achievements when you document these throughout the year. This includes your test results, compare what you’ve learnt since the start of the year any ECAs you’ve joined and projects you’ve completed since joining, and anything else you’ve done that you feel has helped you grown 📈
This stage can also be impacted by feelings of imposterism; you may downplay a lot of the progress you have made. So it would help to do this with a friend, teacher, a parent or mentor who can help give you a more objective perspective.
4. Adopt a Growth Mindset 🌱
Finally, work on adopting a growth mindset. This kind of a mindset embodies the idea that we are a continuous work in progress, and that skills can be developed through effort 💪 By understanding this, we can help us take others off of their pedestals. Apart from that, this kind of a mindset shifts our focus from results to the actual process.
The process of learning during your A Levels is continuous, and you need to keep in mind that you’re a student, which means you’re in the process of learning.
Even as you leave college and enter university, you may even experience imposterism as an undergraduate student. Again, it’s important to remind yourself that you’re a beginner, and that you’re here to learn and develop yourself. The process of improving yourself is long and continuous, and just like everyone else, with time you will become more knowledgeable and experienced.
Remember, you deserve to be here ❤️🩹 A-Levels might be challenging, but you have the skills, resilience, and support to crush them. Now go out there and prove to yourself what you're truly capable of!
