<p>Ok guys look , Im a senior in HS and due to some family/monetary problems I have declined my acceptance offers and am going to my local comm. college. Despite my lower stats I am hoping to get into a top-15 school one day. Given my stats do I honestly have a shot? (Assuming I keep a very high college GPA)</p>
<p>Racial Status- Black male
Location-VA
HS GPA- ~3.0
SAT's- 1800
College GPA (Dual Enrollment)-9 credits-4.0 so far
ECs: Working on it</p>
<p>Any advice would also be greatly appreciated</p>
<p>^^ That, plus get to know some professors well. You will benefit greatly, and your recommendations will reflect a real depth of knowledge of you. You have a good chance for sure if you stay focused and build on your motivation.</p>
<p>Here's an additional piece of advice which you didn't ask for: begin to identify schools, below the top 15, which meet your criteria and which you think you would really like. Include some schools which accept a high % of transfer applicants. Then, when it is time to apply, you will have a balanced list, increased chances for acceptance, and some good choices in the end.</p>
<p>The "top 15" schools include such quite different places as Yale, CalTech, Dartmouth, Columbia, U Chicago. Most often, a given student is not going to like all of those schools. Figure out which of the top15 schools match your preferences for atmosphere, size, location, academic offerings and areas of strength. Then, find schools further down the ladder which match those attributes. </p>
<p>The top 15 schools you choose will be your reach schools (and are reaches for everybody), the others will be your match and safety schools. You need all 3 categories.</p>