How To Get Rid Of Prestige Obsession of Indians?

My parents immigrated from Bangladesh and like a lot of other immigrant families, I was raised in a household that put a huge weight on education. (not knocking my parents at all, they went through a ton of suffering and put in a lot of work to allow me to get to where I am today) Growing up I was always told that I'd have to go to a top college and I guess that idea just embedded itself so deep into my head. I ended up getting into some top tier foreign universities and really good courses but just couldn't afford them and turned them down for a shitty private college. By all other metrics my life is great. Met an amazing group of friends through my college, and have been had a shit ton of fun at college, college is easy so I never went to class and can just travel. But every single time a doctor, family friend, etc. asks what school I go to I feel so much shame it's crazy. How do I fix this?

Kendall Vernon

Shipsy

6 months ago

We are social animals. Status or indicators of status are important to a degree even outside of practicality. However, given you made the practical choice, figure out how to respect yourself for that decision. You sound pretty young so this could be part of your journey of figuring out what’s really important to you and to what extent. No need to hide feelings of inadequacy but you need to face them and decide what they are trying to tell you.

Dezi Vernon

Flipkart

6 months ago

I mean this in the nicest way but no one will care where you went to college once you start your job (besides maybe having something in common to chit chat about). I suspect half these folks you're talking to are just making conversation and that is the type of question to ask someone. Frankly some of the "shame" you're feeling could be rooted in egocentrism given you're worried these people you're talking to are sizing you up. They honestly probably don't care. Someone else above mentioned this but you are likely way better off financially (not needing to take on debt) and are (hopefully) having a way more fun college experience. Try to view it as the positive it is rather than the negative you perceive it to be.

Coy Carmden

Google

6 months ago

It isn't getting over any time soon.

Isaiah Hyrum

Gojek

6 months ago

You feel it his way now but it won't matter 10 years down the line, especially if you work hard and play your cards right. As you grow, you'll see an IITian and a tier 3 college grad working side by side in similar roles, probably with similar pay. Only your first employers would care about your college and grades. If some employer still cares about it after 5 YoE, they aren't worth it. Focus more on what you want after college and work towards it. These days (I only know about tech) young grads know so much already by the time they graduate, not because their college taught them, but because they knew where they wanted to be and worked on the relevant skills. So it's a tough competition if you want to be in corporate world. And people will always have something to ask and say, don't let that define you. 🙂