Track: High School STEM Poster Competition

Abstract

This project investigates the commonality and effect of imposter syndrome in the students of online high schools, using Stanford University Online High School (OHS) as a sample. Multiple scientific studies define imposter syndrome in similar ways, and it is estimated that 70% of people experience this phenomenon in their lives. However, imposter syndrome has rarely been investigated in such a young demographic before, nor in online school students, and therefore this project aims to spread awareness about the prevalence of imposter syndrome in online high school students. The variables include grade level, experiencing imposter syndrome, and where a student experienced it (at school, home, extracurriculars, etc.). The data sampled through an anonymous survey was investigated through 10 statistical tests: 9 chi-square tests, and 1 Kruskal-Wallis test. OHS students, on average, are statistically significantly more likely to experience imposter syndrome than the “average” person. However, the 7th and 8th-grade samples showed no statistically significant difference from the expected results. This data supports the alternative hypothesis that online high schoolers are more likely to experience imposter syndrome, which was reasoned to be due to the more difficult and higher amount of work, as well as the mounting pressure to achieve success.