As seniors prepare to leave the Linfield bubble and incoming freshmen are contemplating their lives in college, it’s time to talk about imposter syndrome.
Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes coined the phrase in 1978 in their study “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention.”
They found that women who had accomplished a great deal in their professional lives tended to “persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.”
It’s the feeling that the professor will find out you’re a fraud after the next paper or someone will call your bluff if you wait long enough.
Knowing other students are probably dealing with the same thing and seeking out friends, counselors, or professors to discuss it with can help alleviate imposter syndrome. It helps to know that this is a normal experience. You’re not alone and you’re not a fraud.
Freshmen: it wasn’t a fluke or mistake that you were accepted, you earned your spot here and you deserve it.
Sophomores and juniors: you’ve gotten this far because you’ve worked hard and persevered through all the sleepless nights,; you’re not frauds.
Finally, seniors: you almost made it through, not because you’ve conned someone into giving you a degree but because you did all the work and now deserve the credit.
-The Review Editorial Board