<p>Note: Sorry if Im posting in wrong forum. Mods, feel free to move thread.</p>
<p>Im 19 and have recently realized the magnitude of my wrong decisions Ive made that have negatively affected my academic grades.</p>
<p>Freshmen and sophomore year were excellent for me, earning mainly As in all classes, four of which were honors.</p>
<p>Junior year I decided to hang with the wrong crowd. None of which were criminals or anything severe of that nature, but this group consisted of low achieving slackers with different goals mind-sets as mine. Ive always been shy with little or no friends, had low-confidence, and no self esteem, so when these kids were introduced to my life with the desire to become my friends, I quickly and foolishly accepted their deceiving friendship.</p>
<p>My grades plummeted drastically in fall of my Junior year. I then decided to drop all honor classes before the beginning of the spring semester, which did help, but it was too late to eliminate the Fs I received in 2 classes, among the other Ds and Cs. In spring I got mainly high Cs to low Bs.</p>
<p>At the end of Junior year I finally grew out of this stage and realized what stupid mistakes I was making. Senior year went smoothly but my goals seem to have been terribly affected by the junior year incidents. During middle school and freshman year, my goal was to attend a top-rated University, not saying Ivy-League here, but a good education at a top 50 school.</p>
<p>During and after Junior year, my goal was to just get by college without much effort at some local pubic university. A very low SAT score taken in my junior year also impacted me towards this low-achieving goal.</p>
<p>I decided to take a year off after high school so I can mature and save money for college, although it was mainly also for in-state tuition reasons since I was a new resident at that state. But during this year off, I remain with the same goals in mind to just get by with my college education.</p>
<p>Suddenly about 6 weeks ago I made a complete 360 degree turnaround in everything about my self. I no longer wanted an education at some tier 4 ranked school and get by with Cs and Bs, I wanted to work my hardest in everything I did and to be the best. I wanted to be successful in life and have a very financially awarding career. It wasnt as if I just work up with this mentality, but trying to explain it will be too complicated.</p>
<p>Anyway, fact is that it'll be very hard for me to be admitted to a great top 50 school with GPA of 3.1 and 1100 SAT, and I happen to be very competitive and desire a top rated education. Im also rather greedy and want a high paying job.</p>
<p>So this finally brings me to my question, especially for the older and wiser CC members here.</p>
<p>Considering that I end up going to an average school (think of your average tier 4 commuters University), how great will this effect my financial potential as compared to have gone to a better school (Rice, NYU, UT, USC)?</p>
<p>Does your undergraduate education really make a difference in how much you earn throughout life?</p>
<p>Im sorry for such a childish question here, I guess I just need comfort in that although I made mistakes in the last couple years of my life, my whole life will not be permanently affected financially. Note: I do realize that happiness is more important than money, and my goals of raising a happy family haven't changed.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Im more ready than ever for my undergraduate studies. Not only to attend, but to excel with excellent grades.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>