Asked: Is it a realistic goal for me to get into a college that takes 30% of applicants, like NYU for examp

Making it into a prestigious college would mean a lot to me for many reasons, more than just having the right to command a higher salary. I would be extolled by family, friends and associates alike every time I mention it!

My guidance counselor absolutely refuses to challenge me like a bright student. All because I don't meet the prerequisites for any AP or Honors course at my high school, it is within her strong belief that I will fail the class if I were in it. I have often been called a bright person by my entire family, but apparently, she believes otherwise. Here are my grades so far. In junior year, I think it's blatantly realistic to have an unyielding goal to get all As.

Special Education English: B (Thomas has been a pleasure to have in class. He participates when he is called upon. Thomas is not always focused in class but is easily redirected. Thomas seems to enjoy his final project, writing a children's book.)

Geometry: C+

Practical Biology: B+ (Thomas was a pleasure to have in class. Thomas did an excellent job on his final project.)

Concert Band: A

Jazz Lab: A-

Social Skills: A- (Thomas is a thorough student. He completes his research projects with great detail. Thomas continues to struggle with following teacher directions the first time, without trying to dispute the direction or make comments about it.)

My high school is one of the best in Pennsylvania. Every student in my homeroom but me is taking at least Precalculus/Trig III in junior year, and half of them are taking AP Calculus AB! I used to be phenomenal in mathematics back in elementary school. It was very rare I'd get anything less than a B on a quiz or test in grades 1-5 back when we learned basic arithmetics. In 2nd grade, a well-heeled man pulled me out of class and sent me to the library for a math assessment. He called me a math wiz after I finished, and that compliment resonated across my family! But try telling that to any high school guidance counselor. In 6th grade, it was out with adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing and in with the concepts of algebra and geometry. There was a dramatic increase in the number of intricacies 6th grade math held in store for me compared to how much the material got more challenging in previous years, and my grades plummeted. As a result, I was placed in the class that taught pretty much the same material as 6th grade math in 7th grade. I am now on the math pathway that the average high schooler is on. It would mean a lot to me if I get nothing less than an A in Calculus before I graduate from high school, but I'm not even sure if that's a realistic goal. I'd love to take Calculus II in my freshman year of college instead of Calculus I.

You might have noticed that I write well. But because I've always preferred nonfiction over fiction novels, the teachers placed me in the resource room for English. The students in honors classes learn much more useful and interesting words in my perspective, and probably many others. Same is true for the novels. A sample vocab list for Honors English 10 would be: sumptuous, incessant, malevolence, laudable, deferred, indiscreet, abyss, tumultuous, portentous, malice, indiscernible, solidarity, complacent, excursion, elations, bungalow, epigram, wistfully, fractiousness, pungent, bantering, cynical, supercilious, prig and libertine. In Honors, they read The Great Gatsby. In special ed, I read the abridged version of Beowulf which is appropriate for middle school. I'm up for the challenge!

I am worried that even though it is within my strong belief that I am capable of being in a class that teaches you more than just the minimum required for the core curriculum, in the world of college admissions, the transcript always wins.

I have had enough of the school perceiving me as a lowlife who doesn't appreciate the education my parents pay taxes for! I did kid with my education before I got to high school, and I finally realize there's a reason why my family constantly advised me to take school more seriously when I was younger! My Uncle Drew got a $3M custom house in Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ, and he is in the top 1% of earners in the USA! It has a private dock, elevator, library, two balconies, three fireplaces, an in-house sound system, 100" home theatre, bar, fitness room, even an 80s arcade machine and Pepsi machine with a value of around $5,000! He claims I am just as capable as he is to get a house of comparable elegance. I'm literally praying to God telling him I hope that's true!

My future goals include being a rich and successful business executive with a multimillion dollar house in an affluent, walkable NYC suburb. Although that is possible without an education from a university that takes no one but the high honors students, it's very unconventional.