I did engineering at Oxford, where we had problem sets every week as well. I'd try hard, but not because there was a grade that counted. There would be a 2-on-1 tutorial for each set, and you really don't want to be the guy who didn't make an effort.
On the other hand, if something was simply too hard, we didn't let it stress us out either. I remember emailing a tutor at 2am once and telling him both students found it way too hard and needed more time. Got a response 5 mins later saying no prob.
As for impostor syndrome, you need a healthy confidence. Naturally there are people who are smarter than you, but equally when you're at a world class institution it's because someone decided you are world class. And they had a lot of people to choose from, most of who are doing quite well at less prestigious places. Where they learn the same stuff.
You also shouldn't worry about rank. Only one guy get the top prize, but everyone can understand the subject matter.
I did engineering at Oxford, where we had problem sets every week as well. I'd try hard, but not because there was a grade that counted. There would be a 2-on-1 tutorial for each set, and you really don't want to be the guy who didn't make an effort.
On the other hand, if something was simply too hard, we didn't let it stress us out either. I remember emailing a tutor at 2am once and telling him both students found it way too hard and needed more time. Got a response 5 mins later saying no prob.
As for impostor syndrome, you need a healthy confidence. Naturally there are people who are smarter than you, but equally when you're at a world class institution it's because someone decided you are world class. And they had a lot of people to choose from, most of who are doing quite well at less prestigious places. Where they learn the same stuff.
You also shouldn't worry about rank. Only one guy get the top prize, but everyone can understand the subject matter.