Can you get into a good college with if your high school has a bad reputation?

Question

I will be going to high school next year as a freshman, and I know its pretty early to ask this question, but does it matter if your high school has a bad reputation or ranks low amongst the NYC schools? My main reason for asking is because in the NYC school system, you apply to high schools, and you get in based on your grades and such during your seventh grade year, but I did really bad then. I improved greatly, graduating the first in my class for 8th grade, and I am very motivated, However, I'm afraid that the best schools like Yale (my dream school), will not accept me based on my high school's bad reputation. I could transfer to a better school, or I could wait till another school asks me to attend their school (which happens fairly often if your grades improve), but does it really matter?

Answer 1

Actually in a poor school you have a better chance of being noticed if you succeed, being number one in your class is easier in a school like that than it would be in a private school

reputation doesn't matter at all.  colleges just want to see if you did well and took advantage of extracurricular activities and tough courses

Answer 2

if your dream is to go to Yale, dont ever give that up. it might be harder, coming from a poor school and low income family, but that doesnt mean its impossible. i second the idea of contacting someone from Yale now, to build up that connection. if your highschool is that bad, you could always go to a community college for a year or so, and transfer later. the credits will transfer but the diploma will be from Yale. good luck!  

Answer 3

If you are afraid of not getting accepted into a "good" college  or university such as your dream to go to Harvard.  You might try and transfer to another high school after your ninth grade year. Just study a lot in the ninth grade and get better study habits and do extra course work.  You can ask your teachers to help you by giving you extra "work and research in each subject area.  So try and make the best of your ninth grade in your "problematic" high school and see if you can then transfer to another "better" more academic minded high school for the tenth grade.

Also what some college bound students do is that they buckle down and do the best they can in all their school subjects and when they graduate from High School they will attend a "community college" for two years.  Then they will apply for a transfer to the college of their choice e.g. Harvard or Columbia or "NYU", etc etc.  

I heard a high school boy who was with his father at an "office Christmas party tell another person who had a kid who was going to be going to college in a couple of years say that he had gone to a Community College for two years and got the Associates degree and then transferred to the senior college where he wanted to go and went away to college.  he did this because the tuition in a community college is so much cheaper than the tuition in a 4 year senior college.  

He said he and his parents saved countless thousands of dollars by going to the community college for two years.

My couisn's son got a partial scholarship to go to Fordham University in the Bronx.  it is a quite expensive private college.  He got a partial scholarship for $10,000.00 a year.  His parents have to come up with $30,000.00 a year for 4 years.  His father went out and got a second job.  

You can do the math.  His parents are paying $30,000.00 a year for 4 years.  They will have spent $120,000.00 at the end of 4 years. If the boy had gone to a Community college such as in CUNY system of NYC then his last two years of college in Fordham would ahve only costed his parents $60,000.00.  That is quite a substantial savings.  

This si just a thought for you since you intend to go to a "good" college after you graduate from High School.  

So I wish you good luck in your high school years.  Just do well in the ninth grade and get good marks and try to transfer to a "better" high school in tenth grade and this will ease the worry on your mind and allow you to study hard and do well in your 4 years at High school.

Remeber then to think about going to a Community college for the first two years of your college studies as you will save a fortune in college tuition and you will have less of a "student" loan to pay back after you graduate form college.

Best of success to you

PS>  Don't worry about your familes income.  It's the marks that count and who knows you may even get a good scholarship which could pay for most of the college expenses.  But I think you shoiuld try the Community College approach as the time gets nearer for you to go to college.  Just sit back and concentrate on your studies and don't worry if other kids "are richer" or not.  Just do the best you can and study hard and take advantage of any tutoring or other help you can get.  Also good study habits are essential for college so work on all those things and forget about the other kids.  

Answer 4

You are going to have to swim upstream on this one.  It is great that you are thinking about college now.   You actually have two issues:  One getting admitted, which you recognize, and the second, being prepared to compete in college after you are admitted.

Yes, the high school that you are coming from matters.  Your job is to get the best possible education that you can while there.

Have you considered contacting an admissions counselor at Yale and discussing the situation?  Building a relationship now and having a champion, as well as a good advisor could do wonders.

Answer 5

I would say do your absolute best [all As, lots of after school activities, volunteering, the works] at your high school while you try to get switched to a different school. Yale is so competitive even by going to a great school you might not get in, so you might have to settle for going to another university for undergrad and the apply to Yale for grad school.