How can I stop thinking like this?

I have firmed LSE for economics but I genuinely don't feel a sense of accomplishment anymore, in fact I feel inferior to other people who got on the course too because while they seem to have social lives, I don't which in my mind makes me inferior because all I've done is work for this whereas they have been able to do other things too. I really struggle with comparing myself to others and I just wish I could stop.

Also I got rejected from cambridge whereas others got offers from both LSE and Cambridge for economics which again makes me feel inferior and incapable.

I am not feeling excited about going to LSE and I'm terrified that I won't make the most of the "freshers" experience and I'm scared that I won't make friends and have zero social life like I do now. I couldn't even be bothered to go to the offer holder day so now I've missed out on a chance to meet people. I am also considering a gap year to reapply for maths because, again, my degree choice makes me feel inferior to those who do subjects like maths and physics because they are deemed harder and lead to more job prospects, whereas with LSE econ I can only go into IB as the most lucrative career.

I also feel like I have chosen the wrong subject even though I enjoy maths and economics, I feel that the maths used in economics is too basic and not challenging enough for me. I feel like I enjoy maths way more than economics, and I know economics is quantitative at uni but I have looked at textbooks and slides and it just seems so basic, like rearranging and simple calculus, which is nowhere near as respectable as a maths degree.

Sorry if I come off as arrogant or something but I'm genuinely stressing about this - I overthink a lot. How can I stop thinking like this?

Reply 1

poppy2022

I go to LSE. For a start, no one actually makes proper friends on the offer holder day so you'll be fine.

Secondly, while I don't do Econ myself, from interacting with Econ students I can assure you that not all had as great of a social life as you're describing. One of my current friends at LSE does Econ and Maths and had zero friends before joining LSE, yet has managed to find his people here. On offer holder groupchats, it's usually going to be the minority, and indeed the most sociable, that are the loudest. They are not representative of the average LSE student at all. Many will have very similar concerns to you and many would have dedicated most of their teen years to academic success alone.

Also, it's quite easy to change courses at LSE. You can call them up on results day to do this, but I'd actually wait until you start because it should be easier. You can switch to Maths and Economics at LSE which will have lots of challenging maths in it. There's also a course called Actuarial Sciences which may have even more maths in it. I've seen people switch from Philosophy to Econ and Maths, as well as from Accounting to Environmental Studies to name a few, so I think it's very unlikely LSE will deny your request once you're officially enrolled.

You're clearly someone who likes learning and chalenging yourself, so there's little point in taking a year out where you won't have any formal teaching. As you've also already said, you've worked so hard for this so why bother throwing it all away now to reapply?