Hey guys this is my first post, but I’ve been lurking threads for a while. Anyways i’m a current sophomore and for a while now I’ve come to terms with the fact that i seriously messed up freshmen year. My GPA last year was an 87 unweighted and an 88 weighted 
I guess I just didn’t try hard enough, I know I definitely could’ve done better. Anyways this year I’ve completely changed my work ethics and so far my gpa is a 96- a 4.0 if i converted right. Either ways my rank is completely screwed, i’m 114 out of 510. I’m trying to make up for it by studying super hard for the SAT next week as well as choosing all AP and college courses my junior year, dropping my lunch as well 
Anyways. my question is, is there still hope I can get into a good college, like my dream school, Cornell? Please answer honestly, I’d rather know the truth than get my hopes up. My guidance counselor says Cornell only wants to take top 30 students. Thanks guys 
Do you still have a chance? Of course – anyone does. There’s no way to evaluate you from one post. So much goes into an admissions decision that is subjective like your essays and letters of rec. If Cornell is your dream school, you should apply but know that any school as competitive as Cornell is not a sure-thing for anyone, even those with seemingly perfect “stats”.
That being said, you can look at the Common Data Set for Cornell and decide if you still want to apply, especially section C: http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000563.pdf
Some statistics that may interest you include:
87% of admitted students were in the top tenth of their class
The middle 50% of admitted students had SAT scores with CR 650-740 and Math 680-770
Extracurriculars, Talent/Ability, and Character/Person Qualities along with GPA, scores, essays, etc. were all listed under “Very Important” admissions factors