How can I avoid comparing my first few weeks with classmates who already have technical experience?

During the first few weeks, use your own progress—not the performance of experienced classmates—as the main benchmark. Check the course learning goals, divide the material into small tasks, and keep a record of what you can understand or do compared with the previous week. Ask instructors or classmates about unclear points early. You can treat experienced students’ methods as examples for learning rather than as standards for judging yourself. Differences in experience are differences in starting points, not fixed measures of ability or future growth.