Help Me! I screwed up my future big time.

<p>My HS is ridiculously competitive.</p>

<p>Freshman/Sophmore: 4.0
Junior Year: 3.0 GPA *Unweighted. I took a lot of hard classes/APs, specifically the most infamous math class at our school, and ended up getting a D first semester. Also, too much crap happened.</p>

<p>I'm absolutley certain I want to become a CPA (Accountant) and then go on to a prestigious Law School. But I think I SCREWED MY WHOLE ENTIRE FUTURE!! My parents will disown me...All my friends are going to laugh at me.... I'm having a breakdown. I'm so scared....</p>

<p>I have so many questions:
-Should I go to CC? (BUT If I do, my parents will KILL ME)
-Should I go to an okay-school where I could transfer easily? (Any reccomendations)
-Is it possible to transfer after one year at a college if I have a flawless senior andcollege freshman year?
-I really want to go to a school with a good accounting/business program (USC, Columbia, UPenn, UCBerkeley - lots of legacy, maybe Stanford). What do I have to do to get there???</p>

<p>PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!</p>

<p>USC, Columbia, UPenn, UCBerkeley...</p>

<p>yes go to cc and transfer.</p>

<p>you still have a 3.67 unweighted GPA for high school even without your senior year, there are plenty of schools that will take a person with that kind of GPA...</p>

<p>i dont mean to be mean i am sorry but college admissions is going to get even worse and you are going to be competing against the craziest people for u penn and columbia.</p>

<p>University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign, really good for accounting.</p>

<p>First of all, calm down! Take a step back for a second; your life isn't over because you got one D in high school. Yeah, it's not the best thing in the world, but it's FAR from the worst. You can still get into some top schools with an unweighted GPA 3.67 (plus, you can still bring that up senior year), especially if you're saying you took a bunch of APs. When you say there was other stuff going on, does that merit an explanation in your application, or was it just everyday problems getting you down? If the former, explain it and colleges will likely understand. Even if it was the latter, just focus on improving next year. One bad mark is not going to make or break your life!</p>

<p>OP, I'd like to see your test scores. Chipmoney, a 3.0 junior year is poor for the schools he's looking at. It doesn't matter what his cumulative is. I highly suggest you do not go to CC, because it seems to me a combination of personal issues and harder classes were to blame-it wasn't as if you stopped appreciating your education. There are schools that will take you, but of the schools you listed, the only viable one is USC unless you scored something like a 2400 on your SATs. I'd aim a little lower like mid-UC's.</p>

<p>If your high school is ridiculously competitive I assume they have good counselors. Talk to one. Listen to Star*.</p>

<p>bahahahahahaha</p>

<p>erm... sorry. I realize that might be taken as offensive...
but, honestly, your future isn't screwed if you don't fo to one of those schools. my advice is to breathe.
deeply.
You have over a 3.5 UW GPA, and loads of schools would admit with that. Why don't you go to a college and transfer? You aren't doomed to a CC, go to a regular college, maintain a good GPA, and transfer to one of your "future-making schools"
honestly, some people are so melodramatic.
(XD I'm poking fun at myself, because I definitely just had this exact same reaction not two weeks ago. It will be okay.) :)</p>

<p>OP - the big accounting firms recruit out of about 100 schools, not just the Top 25 you listed as your hoped for schools.</p>

<p>UC Santa Barbara/Irvine/Davis might be a match for you, or for sure UC Santa Cruz.</p>

<p>Accounting is one of those fields where after you arrive at your Big Accounting firm, you make a mark for yourself by impressing your clients and your manager. At that point where you went to school is irrelevant. </p>

<p>I have a friend who graduated from Pepperdine about 20 years ago. He went to work for a Big 8, and was assigned to a HUGE entertainment company. He made a mark for himself, then went to work directly for this company. He rose to CFO of the Studio division, and then left with his boss, the President, to form another well know entertainment company.</p>

<p>Accounting is not about where you went to school. It is about how you did undergrad, then how you impress your manager/client. That will either get you a position at one of your clients, or great recos for MBA school.</p>

<p>My niece didn't do well at a private competitive HS, and did not get into her first choice school. She went to another private college in California with a scholarship, did very well, got her prerequisites to transfer to USC, and was accepted as a tranfer into their business school in her Junior year. Set your sights and go for it.</p>

<p>Go to a good state university (the best you can get into will be more than good enough). Get great grades there, and transfer. Or graduate with top notch honors, and go to grad school from there. Get a handle on why your GPA dropped so much, and don't do it again. </p>

<p>Realize that having a high emotional IQ is more important than a high GPA. The former will get you a better life in the long run in every way.</p>

<p>Friends who will laugh at your stress are mere acquaintances.</p>

<p>You have not done anything at all to mess up your life. The world is still at your feet. The only concerning thing about your post is that you are freaking out. Find a way, over time, to control that. Having the self-control to stay calm during life's inevitable ups and downs is a gift that few adults possess. I hope you get it at an early age. What an advantage that will be.</p>

<p>Now is the time to turn a corner so that your parents' opinion of your school or job performance is less important than your own opinion of it.</p>

<p>I'm headed to notre dame and my final unweighted was a 3.2, if that makes you feel better. i'm 100% sure you can get into a good accounting school...</p>

<p>i love how whenever people get bad grades a family member died, something happened, etc. this thread by the op reminds me of the so many threads that are like "my bright daughter got a D in daughter because of ___"</p>

<p>I had to read the OP twice in order to figure what the big catastrophe was. Then I realized, oh, it must be that D. </p>

<p>Good grief. Calm down. Your whole entire future is not screwed. Your parents won't kill you. There are a lot of options between Stanford and community college. Here, have a hug. {{}}</p>

<p>Your dream schools are now reaches instead of matches. That's OK. Continue to get excellent grades as a senior and still apply to all of them. Also apply to the really good schools below Ivy. You've had a lot of fine suggestions. </p>

<p>You'll do great. Good luck.</p>

<p>Well, first off, it's not the end of the world, and you probably know that by now. It's true that Junior year counts a lot, and I'm not going to lie and say you still have a great shot at Columbia or Stanford or UCB, but you know what? Listen to the other posters, the caliber of your school means little after you get a career started, and that's beside the point because you can still get into some really great schools. Do some research, there's still a huge chunk of tier 1 schools that you still have a shot at, don't settle for Community College, you can do MUCH better.</p>

<p>Are you asian? </p>

<p>Cause my parents will probably kill me over that D lol</p>

<p>JK, there are plenty of good colleges out there that will be happy to take you. Do good on your ACT/SAT and SAT IIs, and then write some killer essays, and you should have no problem getting into a top 50 college!</p>

<p>yeah all those colleges you mentioned now are practically now impossible for you to get in now. yeah for you i would just go to community college and transfer.</p>