Movies like Struck by Lightning

A high school boy, desperate to escape the idiocy of the people in his hometown, tries to create a way in which he can move to New York, attend the college of his dreams and do something other than live in the footsteps of his drunken, divorced mother. Along the way he blackmails his fellow students into contributing to his literary magazine and discovers what it's like to feel accomplished. Does he get accepted into the college of his dreams? Is he going to make a difference and follow his life goal?