Transfer Student-> Engineering/Physics Program

[Leptos]

A little bit about my academic record:
- My average in my freshman, sophomore, and junior year of high school was only 72.
- My average in senior year was a 96.4.
- I scored 90+ on all but 1 of my regents.
- I'm currently going to Queens borough Community College and this is my first semester in college(spring 2010).
I know I can manage a decent GPA here at QCC but I'm not sure how long it will be until I can properly transfer schools since this is going to be my first semester in college. My parents cover all my costs so tuition isn't a problem.

I want to be in a physics, engineering, or math program when I transfer schools.
To be safe I'm assuming a 3.85 GPA(although at QCC I know I can manage 3.9+)

Currently I'm considering applying to the following schools:
-Cooper Union(electrical/mechanical engineering)
-City College
-Queens College

Also: I'm fine with doing some research work or minor publications because I have quite a bit of free time even on a full-time student schedule. I have well above average capabilities, but it just so happens that I've made some choices that have affected my academic career negatively. Are there any cases where a school will consider special cases like where a student may exhibit special qualities that are generally correlated with high-achievers or where a student may have recovered from depression?

Anyway, I'm open to all advice guys. Like I've mentioned in previous threads, I'm ready to stay in school for a 12 years or more if needed. I've been interested in the natural sciences, particularly physics, since my childhood; I've looked enough into college level material to know physics is what I want to study.

 

[Jack21222]

Your high school crap doesn't matter once you get about 30-60 credits at the community college (depends on the university.)

Your GPA won't transfer over, but the credit will. A high community college GPA may be helpful for scholarship opportunities, though.

 

[Leptos]

Your high school crap doesn't matter once you get about 30-60 credits at the community college (depends on the university.)

Your GPA won't transfer over, but the credit will. A high community college GPA may be helpful for scholarship opportunities, though.

My parents are willing to pay for me to go to more expensive schools but I don't want to move outside of New York City. I want to stay near my home(Jamaica Estates, Queens) so I can live in my parents house until I finish my undergraduate studies. QCC offers some research programs but from what I was told there wasn't any for physics but there are some for chemistry. Regardless, any research work I can do I suppose would benefit me.