I like the essay. I get complacent myself sometimes--until something comes along to kick me in the butt. The older I get, the more bruised my backside.
There were a couple of parts that I think could be improved. Here are a few thoughts:
The bell rang, and my teacher started off by warning us of the dedicated effort expected and the importance of trying.
This sentence gets wordy and redundant, especially toward the end. Tighten it up a little. Try something like: "The bell rang, and my teacher warned us of the dedication and effort expected."
Uninterested, I nodded off to Eminem's beats while daydreaming about the football game later that night.
Did you literally nod off to Eminem's beats? This gets a little confusing and leaves the reader with the mental image of you sneaking your iPod into class. It paints you as not merely disinterested and overconfident, but recalcitrant. Not the best image to leave an admissions counselor with even if it is in past tense. You could leave in the nodding off and the daydreaming, but I would omit the part about Eminem.
I managed to duck out with a low but passing grade, and merely shrugged it off as a fluke.
While this sentence isn't wrong, it isn't flowing very well either. How about something like this instead: I shrugged off my barely-passing grade as a fluke.
my grades would regress back to perfection
Regress isn't the right word here. Yes, it can mean to return to a previous state, but it strongly suggests backsliding, lapsing, or retreating. Regressing is not forward motion.
I would claim back
Reclaim.
a slew of horrific grades what would make Thomas Edison proud.
The Edison reference isn't working for me. If you were to say that the horrific grades would make Bart Simpson proud, it would make more sense in mind, but I don't equate Thomas Edison with pride in poor grades.
I contemplated dropping out of [the school i go to] and transferring into a less competitive school.
Is the admissions committee going to recognize the name of your high school?
There was a solid fifty grand while others were busy failing their exams.
You lost me on this thought. It sounds like everyone was failing their exams, but I am sure that some were prepared for the challenge. It needs to be about you. This isn't the director's cut of a movie where you get to explain why you shot a particular scene the way that you did--make sure that audience knows what you are talking about just from the essay.
Lost, I stumbled home to my mother, who was in the kitchen making dinner.
This sentence is feeling a little awkward to me. The second comma wouldn't be needed because you aren't setting up an appositive. Try something like: Lost, I stumbled home and found my mom making dinner in the kitchen.
there will be peers that are smarter than me, and peers that are dumber than me.
Peer connotes equality. It is kind of like saying, "there will be equals that are smarter than me, and equals that are dumber than me." Substitute a different word--people, classmates, students.
It is something I've been pushing onto myself ever since.
It is unclear to me what "it" is in this sentence. Pushing onto yourself? This sentence is too vague--ten words that don't really say anything. I struggles with conclusions myself, so I understand how difficult they can be, but you need to end this on a stronger note to leave a good impression with the admissions people.
I hope that you don't feel like I murdered your essay--there is no blood anywhere, no traces of cyanide, no malice from me toward your words. Your writing is strong and you have a good grasp of grammar, but there is room for improvement. The subtleties and nuance of language can make a good essay better.