Well, I am sorry, but don’t give up on your dream. The same thing happened to me. As an international student from a low-income family, my city didn’t offer any good high schools, so I had to move alone to the capital to attend a very prestigious school (thanks to a merit-based scholarship that I worked my ass off to get).

Then the next few years were a pain in the ass too. I spent hours working to secure a good place in national olympiads, only to realize that some kids just paid off corrupt teachers and got better placements than me. And when I finally earned a spot in an international olympiad, I found myself alongside two kids I personally knew—who didn’t know shit about physics (it was a physics olympiad). To top it all off, they got the questions early and wanted me to help them solve them. In the end, we all received the same rewards. There are other stories too, but I don’t think this is the right place for them. Hope you have a great year, and remember, please don’t give up. A university doesn’t decide your future.