What are my chances of succeeding?

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>It has been a while since I've been on here, but I've been pondering some things lately, and I wish to get some feedback on these thoughts.</p>

<p>A little background:
I have always been a smart kid, especially with sciences. I can learn things without any issues, and know quite a lot in various fields. However, I was never that "concerned" with school all my life. I was just never interested in what they had to teach me, so I didn't care sometimes. I didn't care much through high school, and even when I got into trouble at school, and had to drop out and get my GED, I went off to community college to get my basics out of the way, and screwed up there too by not going to class, and withdrawing most of my classes. I'll tell you, I have no idea what in the world I was thinking, or what I thought was more important, but now being 20 years old, and having realized that I was becoming a total failure, and a loser, I am starting all over again, and this time, without any kind of doubt, I will BUST MY BUTT OFF. Now when I say I messed up, I mean that my GPA throughout high school didn't usually reach a 3.0, and at the community college, it currently stands as a 1.8, since there were two classes I didn't withdraw, and failed.</p>

<p>So my question is this:
With my obvious mediocre educational past, could I ever reach the status of those who did well all their life, by changing things around now? For some reason, I feel that my past will hinder me, even if I dedicate myself now, and push as hard as I can, and crank out 4.0s. Any idea people?</p>

<p>I just feel like because of my past, I will have almost no chance getting into any prestigious schools like MIT, or even Columbia, UPenn, Lehigh, etc..I don't think that just because I went back to community college, and brought my GPA to a 4.0, they will accept me. I feel like there needs to be a long standing record of doing well, and not just one day straightening up, and doing great.</p>

<p>You’re applying to join an academic community, where the currency includes knowledge and achievement. Your record to date raises serious doubts about your ability to do the work at a school that is full of overachievers. Several years of stellar achievement in challenging courses might change this eventually, but first you need to get the results.</p>