Personal struggles led to abysmal grades, what are my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

TL;DR: I’ve struggled a lot psychologically over the past few years and my grades have suffered. I’m pretty sure I have no chance of getting into a good college with my current GPA. I know I am pretty smart and I have found a sense of direction, but I need help deciding what’s the best way forward. I think my best bet is to attend community college and transfer to a good college after a year or two. Let me know what you think is the best way forward.

 I am currently almost done with my junior year of high school, and my current GPA is below a 3.0.  I've struggled with recurrent bouts depression throughout the first couple of years of high school.  Additionally, my father losing his job, the resulting dire financial situation, my father's ill mental health and alcoholism, and personal philosophical struggles only worsened my depression and distracted me from my studies.  I had no motivation to do any homework for the classes I didn't care about and deluded myself into a state of learned helplessness by overestimating the magnitude of societal flaws.  At the end of my sophomore year, I was so fed up with the rigidity of school system that I decided that switching to an online school system for my junior year would provide more flexibility and would better fit my needs.  Although the flexibility was an improvement in many ways over a brick-and-mortar highschool, there was too much flexibility, namely in the school's lack of hard deadlines, the only two being at the end of the semesters.  Unfortunately, I did not have any of the self-discipline that would normally have been developed throughout middle school and high school and ended up failing a couple of classes in the first semester.

 About a year ago I experienced a psychological and philosophical metamorphosis that gave my life a sense of purpose.  I fully realised that my then current habits would drive me into the ground if I did not turn things around.  I have spent the past school year constantly attempting to build the habits that I did not develop during my earlier years.  I have recently achieved the level of self-discipline that is necessary after many failed attempts of trying to stick to schedules and meet goals.  Obviously, this development had come very late; I'm almost certain I have no chance of getting into a good college straight out of highschool.

Academics (core subjects):
-Freshman year: Honors biology, honors geometry, honors modern world history, honors Latin I, Intro to C++ programming honors, English I CP1.
-I got all A’s and B’s in every course except for English (ironically). I figured I would take an easier English course to lighten the load since I was taking all honors and since I had little interest in literature. The class ended up being a review of my 7th grade English class and I became so fed up with doing busy work that I stopped doing it entirely. My teacher made it clear to me that my writing ability far exceeded my peers and that I should switch to an honors class. I didn’t for some reason I can’t explain and ended the year with a D-. As a result of the grade, my counsellor didn’t let me take honors English the following year.
-That year I took the Biology Subject Test and scored a 760 (although I regret only studying for an hour the night before because I’m sure I could’ve got a perfect score).

-Sophomore year: Honors chemistry, honors algebra II, APUSH (the first half of a two-year course), honors Latin II, AP CompSci, English II CP1.
-This year’s grade were substantially worse. I ended the year with a D+ in chemistry, C in algebra, D+ in APUSH, B+ in Latin, B- in APCompsci, and an F in English. This was the year where my mood absolutely tanked, and I pretty much did not do any homework whatsoever. My sophomore English teacher, like my freshman English teacher, saw my writing ability and suggested that honors would be a better fit for me. I knew long before that that honors English would fit my needs, but after my guidance counsellor refused to let me switch again due to my grade, I completely gave up. Regarding the rest of my classes, despite understanding the subjects very well, I had no work ethic. There is a very strong correlation between the amount of homework assigned in each class the respective grades.
-I scored a 4 on the AP CompSci test.

-Junior year (current year enrolled online): Honors physics, honors pre-calc, APUSH, AP Psychology, Honors American Literature.
-I procrastinated pretty badly and ended up failing to finish all the lessons for APUSH, psych, and physics by the end of the semester. I ended the semester with a D- in physics, B+ in pre-calc, F in APUSH, F in AP Psych, and A in English.
-I plan on taking the SAT, AP Psych and APUSH exams this May. I expect to get a 5 on the psych test as this is what I have scored on practice tests after some studying and at least a 4 on the APUSH test. I expect to get within the 1500 range on the SAT after some studying.

Extracurricular activities and a little bit about me:

I’ve rock climbed for about 7 years, I create art and music, and I played the piano in elementary school and have started playing consistently again within the past couple years. I am half Japanese and speak some Japanese (although I was much, much better in elementary school). I love learning and I consider myself an avid autodidact. I have an extremely wide and varying range of interests including, but certainly not limited to biology (molecular bio, pharmacology, neuroscience, molecular genetics, mycology, botany), psychology, philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, politics, art, music, the list goes on. What I am most interested in is biology, psychology, and philosophy. I am constantly learning about what I am interested in through online resources such as free lecture series (currently I am watching Robert Sapolsky’s behavioral biology course on YouTube; I highly recommend it if you’re interested) and miscellaneous educational youtube videos, and books.

Goals:
My end educational goal is to get a Ph.D in pharmacology or psycho/neuropharmacology from a top university as I have always been deeply interested in neuroscience, psychology, and starting from my freshman year, molecular biology and proteomics. I believe that it is probably impossible for me to get into a top 200 school straight out of highschool, so I figure my best bet is to attend community college for a year or two and transfer into a good school. I may even drop out of high school and start community college when I would normally be finishing my senior year of high school, transfer, and try to finish my undergraduate degree a year early. After graduating with a B.S. I plan to go on to a top university for a Ph.D program. I realise it is a ton of work, and I’m committed to getting a Ph.D.

So here are my questions:
What are my chances of getting into a good college straight out of high school? What are the chances of transferring from a community college into a top university if I’m committed? Is it possible to transfer from a community college to a good school in a year or less? Is it a good idea to drop out of high school and start attending a community college next year?

Please help me through this very difficult crossroads by giving me advice about how I should go forward.

Thank you

2

I don’t know if a top college is within reach. But look at schools that have a high acceptance rate, talk to counselors for colleges that accept students like you. Definitely graduate high school. Here are some colleges with low GPA requirements:
California State University
Connecticut State University
University of Hawaii
Massachusetts State University
University of Nevada
The CUNY system in NYC
The Oregon University system (not to be confused with the University of Oregon)
University of Rhode Island
You could take risks on some of these, since you clearly have a story and passions. It’s worth going for. You can also try going for a less prestigious university in an overall prestigious system, and then transfer if you succeed (Think UIC to UIUC)
Also, Goucher College has you submit a video rather than any GPA or test scores. You can tell about yourself that way. Bennington College has you submit a self-curated collection of your work rather than a transcript. Bard College also has significant essay prompts, that, while you’d need to submit your transcript, you can highlight that you’re more than that.
You have options, I promise. You can find schools for students like you, and if you thrive wherever you go, you can transfer to a more prestigious college.

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The APs were too much for me in high school, depressed me, and I almost didn’t graduate. Went through some stuff, affected me in college as well. Did great my first couple of years at CC, did horrible for another two, did not attend for two because of work, then I finally got my head screwed on well, skipped the parties and focused on school. Four years later, I’m transferring with honors and I got into CSULB, CSULA, CSUN, CSUF, UCR, UCSC, and am waiting on responses from UCI and UCLA. I might save UCLA for grad work or even shoot for Stanford(History major). If I went thru crap, screwed around, took a break, and still managed to get into the schools I wanted, YOU CAN DO IT TOO.

DO NOT drop out of high school, do as best you can, make-up credits in the summer if you have to and get a GED or repeat a year. No shame in that, you can even use that in your personal statement to show your determination. Go to community college, it will save you a ton of money, and the counselors are great. Just don’t be like me and finally go see one a year before you transfer haha.

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Thank you so much politicsnerd, your reply means a lot. Do you mean a top college isn’t within reach in the long run? I know I have little to no chance of getting into a top college straight out of high school but I think it’s going to be necessary to attend one when I’m pursuing my doctorate. Also, I don’t see why I shouldn’t attend a community college and transfer to a state college (e.g. UMASS Amherst) since, in Massachusetts, state schools must accept people transferring after attending a CC for 2 years due to the MassTransfer system. UMass Amherst is ranked within the top 200 in the country and I think I would be able to apply to a top grad school if I work my behind off.

5

I know a few people who had similar experiences in high school, went to either community college or a poor university, did REALLY well there, and transferred to a top school, and did really well there also. At least one went on to a PhD from a very good university with a strong program in his field.

You need to have your act together when you start at community college, and get very good grades there.

It sounds to me that you can do this. It will take a lot of effort. It is possible that it might take you an extra year or two, but over the course of a lifetime one or two years really isn’t a big deal at all.

6

My husband had Ds and Cs on his report card until his senior year when he discovered higher math. He also had a very average SAT score. He chose to attend a local community college to study pre-engineering. He loved the freedom he had there (he had gone to a Catholic boys school for high school, which he hated). He also made a really good friend there with a similar lackluster high school record, and the two of them studied together and motivated each other. After two years, they applied to many of the same schools. He was accepted to UC Berkeley, Cal Poly SLO, Michigan, and UCSD. He chose UCSD because it was in his preferred major, as did his friend. He then spent three years there, graduated summa cum laude with a major in electrical engineering and a minor in music, and went on to get a PhD in EE at Stanford and is now a director in systems engineering at a major defense contractor. His friend went on to get a masters degree in Ocean Science at USC and has also had a great career.

So absolutely unequivocally yes, a poor GPA in high school can be overcome.

I also am mentoring a teen this year with a low GPA due to a challenging life of foster care and related difficulties. She’s been accepted to a large public university, a well-regarded LAC in the south, and a residential two-year college, in addition to being waitlisted at another LAC. If your other credentials are solid, and you can articulate your story for a holistic admissions office, then you can receive offers. If you do indeed get a really high SAT score, this is even more doable.

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@subculturalgrrrl
I know I can easily pass the HiSET/GED no problem. I was thinking it might be a good idea to drop out, start attending community college during what would be my senior year, and transfer using the MassTransfer system, which guarantees that I can transfer into a Massachusetts state college such as UMASS Amherst after two years. I think what I’ll probably do is work really hard and try my luck applying when everyone else applies, though I will probably end up having to go to a CC and transfer anyway.

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@subculturalgrrrl
I know I can easily pass the HiSET/GED no problem. I was thinking it might be a good idea to drop out, start attending community college during what would be my senior year, and transfer using the MassTransfer system, which guarantees that I can transfer into a Massachusetts state college such as UMASS Amherst after two years. I think what I’ll probably do is work really hard and try my luck applying when everyone else applies, though I will probably end up having to go to a CC and transfer anyway.

9

Check into the dual enrollment system for your high school district. Our school district has an agreement with the local community college that all dual enrollment courses are free of charge to the students as long as they are in high school. Once they graduate, they pay regular cc rates. If you have a similar agreement, think about loading up on as many dual enrollment classes as you can until you graduate. Just make sure you get As in them. By the time you’ve graduated, you’d have many community college credits free of charge and can just spend another year finishing up your AA. With an A average in your AA, that would make for a very compelling argument to 4 year colleges that you had addressed your issues and were now qualified to attend 4 year college and do well.