<p>BfloGal, H’s story is similar to yours. His high school GPA wasn’t “lousy” and his SAT scores were above average, but he had a sub-3.0 GPA and no guidance from anyone at home about going to college. He didn’t apply to any 4 year colleges and spent two years at the local CC. From there, he got into a UC and graduated two years later. After some time in the real world, his focus changed and he went back to school to get a Master’s Degree.</p>
<p>He now has a successful and fulfilling career. We sometimes talk about how no one ever thought he would be where he is now.</p>
<p>A less-than-stellar high school career doesn’t mean a mediocre future. Plus there are high school stars who burn out before they really get to shine.</p>
<p>Couldn’t agree more, campbellmom. If someone told me in HS that I would eventually have 2 advanced degrees and be earning more than 5 times what the house I grew up in was worth when my parents bought it, I would have asked them what they were smoking.</p>
<p>And the guy who was our HS valedictorian is now a stay-at-home dad. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I would have been less surprised if he had ended up being a CEO or editor-in-chief of a major publication.</p>
<p>thing is I wanted to succeed and I want to succeed right now
I want to walk into a college and get a 4.0 GPA and get into a grad school like Harvard or Stanford.</p>
<p>The only problem is the situation I was in, I was bullied in Middle school for being different (racially different mainly) and that carried on into high school. Had I given it all I had my freshman and sophomore year I would have been in the running for valedictorian.</p>
<p>I wanted to play football too but my school did not have that so I got disgruntled. Now I know the importance of good grades. Hopefully when I have kids, I raise them out of the southeast. I think the best part of going to college will be not having my parents fuss at me over EVERYTHING. </p>
<p>You’ll do fine! As others stated so well, it’s all about attitude, ambition and drive. If you want to make something of your college experience, you will…and there are endless opportunities for you after that. Many graduate or professional students at HYPS did not do HYPS for undergrad.</p>
<p>And rest assured, as you approach the end of your first degree, you’ll have a better sense of your passions and specific career goals, and it’s unlikely that your current goal of getting into HYPS will even exists anymore. Not that you won’t be able to go there (see my earlier post, you likely can if you want), but simply that it’s unlikely to be relevant to your bigger goals by then (and unlikely to hold the same awe and mystique that it does when you are in HS). I know you probably can’t believe it, but trust me on this.</p>
<p>protagonist: you obviously have the motivation and drive, and that is more than half the battle. You have your whole life ahead of you-- put the past behind and focus on the future. </p>
<p>And while you’re at it, PLEASE read this book: A Hope in the Unseen, by Ron Suskind. It’s a true story about an inner city, impoverished black kid (Cedric Jennings), raised by a single mom, with tremendous odds against him, who through sheer determination makes it into Brown. Great story, and the book is so well written. It will show you first hand how far motivation and drive can take you.</p>
<p>I wish that when I grow up I get to live in the upper class areas of NYC. I stayed there when I was a kid and I loved it, it is time for me to be moving back soon…</p>
<p>Also guys, I have a question. In 1 week my SAT score is coming out. I studied my butt off for the SAT and I must admit that I spend a lot of weekends taking practice tests over the summer.</p>
<p>I am hoping for an 1800 or above. </p>
<p>So, how hard is it to get a scholarship to an out of state university?</p>
<p>Some kid I knew who was kicked out of the magnet school I attend last year due to his grades being too low talked to me today. I saw him and we chatted. He is a Caucasian Blonde Hair Blue eyed male, he goes to a majority Black public school and the school has a really bad reputation. So I asked the kid how he was and he told me he was miserable. </p>
<p>I asked him why and he said this, “I had an opportunity, I was intelligent but I threw away my opportunity because I was lazy and now I suffer for it. Now instead of being up late at night doing homework, I am up late at night fixing bruises. The best thing I hope for is that I verbally assaulted and not thrown in lockers or beaten up.”</p>
<p>I just nodded and moved on.</p>
<p>Going to a magnet school might have been the best thing that has happened to me in my years in the South. I know that my parent’s job and situation caused them to move down here, I would personally love to live in New York or Connecticut but the next best thing happened. I go to a magnet school where I don’t have to put up with getting thrown in lockers and what not. Hopefully I get to a better city because the city I live in is so torn down.</p>
<p>After Nov 1st I need to apply to out of state schools, I still need to wait on my SATs and then after that I need to apply to the schools and apply for scholarships. </p>
<p>I need to narrow my list but here are three schools I will apply to:</p>
<p>University of Delaware
University of Vermont
AND James Madison University</p>
<p>I graduated high school with a 2.9, and I’m currently in the Fulbright process. </p>
<p>I go to a relatively small Jesuit school which isn’t viewed very favorably in national rankings. </p>
<p>It comes down to dedication; if you are prepared to work to the point of insanity every single day for four years, then there is no limit to what s/he can achieve.</p>
<p>Do realize, though, that getting a 4.0 will entail half-killing yourself on a daily basis.</p>
<p>Going to a school like Yale Law is a bit different as a 176+ LSAT can make up for a lower, but still very high, GPA. However, I wouldn’t count on your LSAT score being that high.</p>
<p>believe me, I am willing to work extremely hard in college…
extremely hard…</p>
<p>Plus I don’t really listen to much of the stuff about you can’t do it on this site anyways because most of the people on this site are idiots bent on bashing the dreams of others</p>
<p>seriously, how can someone with a 3.6 GPA, 2130 SAT score and hours of volunteer work NOT get into Georgia Tech?
Also who cares how you did in high school, if you want to be a doctor or lawyer then you can be a doctor or lawyer, I only believe some people on this site, most are idiots with broken dreams sitting behind a computer screen. You don’t need a 2400 SAT score and a 4.0 GPA to get into Yale and you don’t need a 2 page list of extra curriculars (which most askers BS anyways) to get into Yale.</p>