Hi Boston,
I think it's great that you can articulate what you're going through so well and be appreciative of the responses here.
Please don't forget that a lot of these "high powered" schools, whether Ivy League schools of one sort or another, medical schools, law schools or other schools are so often places to which people come who have high expectations for themselves, often built out of high expectations from their family or social backgrounds. For some that works quite well, for others not so.
I know many people who have gone to the Harvards and Stanfords of this world who have not done much with the status or name of the school and who may or may not have done much with what was offered academically. And I know many people who went to a "B flat" school and who have done wonderful things with their lives. When I say either "not done much" or "done wonderful things", I mean everything from things financial, things spiritual, things family, things intellectual, things creative.
So where you are going to school undoubtedly has some real challenges just because of the built in environment surrounding you. At the same time, what you do with it is purely yours. Have you read "My name is Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe? (His latest novel).
Another thing is that undoubtedly there are other people right beside you (not necessarily your roomates
) who may well feel as pressured or overwhelmed as you describe. Finding them, not to start up a "pity party" but rather to engage in some collegiality might be a helpful thing.
Last, it does sound like you are feeling overwhelmed. That does get better, and probably if you get yourself to do one more thing today than you did tomorrow, in the direction of what you aim to accomplish (pass your finals?), then more things like that will come your way.
All best to you, and keep us posted. It sounds like you've got a lot of folks right here who are rooting for you in one way or another....
Ati