Imposter Syndrome as Challenge?

[gehirnartz]

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For secondaries that ask about a challenge you faced, is it okay to talk about imposter syndrome? For context, I go to a T5 school, and imposter syndrome almost led me to drop out my freshman year. I had a professor in a class tell me that I had a fundamental misunderstanding of the subject material and I should not waste their time in office hours, and it really messed with me (later found out the professor consistently put down students and we reported the professor). However, I was able to overcome deficits in my abilities and I did really well in my later classes, which is reflected in my GPA (3.9). But I wonder if that sounds really privileged and not serious enough to be considered a "challenge" that I overcame? Any advice?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

For secondaries that ask about a challenge you faced, is it okay to talk about imposter syndrome? For context, I go to a T5 school, and imposter syndrome almost led me to drop out my freshman year. I had a professor in a class tell me that I had a fundamental misunderstanding of the subject material and I should not waste their time in office hours, and it really messed with me (later found out the professor consistently put down students and we reported the professor). However, I was able to overcome deficits in my abilities and I did really well in my later classes, which is reflected in my GPA (3.9). But I wonder if that sounds really privileged and not serious enough to be considered a "challenge" that I overcame? Any advice?

I would like to know about the prompt you are answering.

"Imposter syndrome" as a challenge to me really depends on how you recognized it, faced it, and resist it now. The problem is you really need to get the setup of the problem and your actions to be substantial, such as the offices and resources you used for help. I don't really see it in this description.

What I do see is how you reported the professor for some rather unprofessional, demeaning behavior that could have contributed to your sense of confidence and self-respect (which you could say is "imposter syndrome"). Reporting your professor isn't trivial and most students would never have the courage to do that in order to raise awareness. That sounds much more interesting.

 

[OchemOficionado]

That sounds more like stereotype threat to me than imposter syndrome. I like the advice above.

 

[gehirnartz]

Thank you! The prompt I’m thinking of is “Describe a challenge you faced prior to applying to medical school and how you overcame it.” So the challenge I thought was overcoming imposter syndrome and recognizing that the professor’s demeaning behavior was the greatest factor in that feeling, and I overcame it by reporting the professor and reaching out to other resources to prove to myself that I can, in fact, do well in the class? I thought of it as imposter syndrome because the overwhelming feeling was “I’m not good enough to do well here, it’s a mistake that I was admitted” which was “confirmed” by the professor’s attitude during office hours. Or is that two challenges? Also I’m not sure it would be considered stereotype threat since I don’t have evidence that it had anything to do with a stereotype the professor might have projected onto me.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you! The prompt I’m thinking of is “Describe a challenge you faced prior to applying to medical school and how you overcame it.” So the challenge I thought was overcoming imposter syndrome and recognizing that the professor’s demeaning behavior was the greatest factor in that feeling, and I overcame it by reporting the professor and reaching out to other resources to prove to myself that I can, in fact, do well in the class? I thought of it as imposter syndrome because the overwhelming feeling was “I’m not good enough to do well here, it’s a mistake that I was admitted” which was “confirmed” by the professor’s attitude during office hours. Or is that two challenges? Also I’m not sure it would be considered stereotype threat since I don’t have evidence that it had anything to do with a stereotype the professor might have projected onto me.

My simplistic opinion: a challenge involves a situation and a goal/target. You need to hit a target. I should be able to know what your thinking process is, the mileposts you have set, and how you adjusted as you got feedback. Adversity is about the headwinds that you had to oppose to get to your target.

Some challenge essays are asking for adversities, but some are more explicit. You are using a generic prompt but realize you may have to completely change your approach to fit specific prompts. So pre-writing and brainstorming is fine... that's what we're doing now. But given the timeline in the application process, don't you have real secondary essays that must be completed soon?

Also, one instance does not necessarily give me a good sense that you are combatting imposter syndrome. Did your parents or family contribute? How about your friends? It can be chronic (i.e., the winds of adversity) so you're really not describing a bona fide challenge. Furthermore, there are plenty of articles on how to combat it: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome , but a lot of your description doesn't involve "goal-setting" or strategic thinking or any sort of deliberate intervention.

I am not as certain in the opinion from your description of "stereotype threat" since I didn't catch what stereotype got affirmed in your example. Stereotype Threat: Definition and Examples - Simply Psychology . Again, to me "stereotype threat" is adversity, and I don't have a sense of all the microaggressions you experienced from your description.

So in short: adversity essay, you need more evidence to write an effective essay on imposter syndrome or stereotype threat (whichever one). Challenges involve specific goals, practices, and targets. Check your prompts, and try again.