when is it "too late" to become a CM/FM/IM/GM

just wondering if there is a certain point where there is just no hope of becoming a master..... im still  midschool so is that too late? I didn't start at 5-7yrs so is there any hope for me?

there is certainly hope.

Levon Aronian did not start until he was 9

i love your cat pics by the way

i started at 12

I don't think it is ever "too late" to become a CM.

I picked up chess at age 5, played for a year, quit, then picked it up about a year and a half ago and now im at 1800 uscf

uscf rating is easy

FIDE is hard

uscf is definitely more inflated but not necessarily easier

I got my master title at age 48.

Anyway, it's pointless to fret over titles that are way beyond your current level. If you're a 1200 player, your goal should be to reach 1400, and not worry about anything beyond that. Once you reach 1400, your next goal should be to hit 1600. Then 1800, 2000, and so forth.

Agree. Also, nice job getting the title!

But your main goal should be like a title GM. What you are talking about is sub goals. A goal should be standard and as a goal that can be achieved over the years. A goal is same for lifetime

kinda agree. It would be more logical to have sub goals as @bramblyspam stated. Less than one percent of chess players make it to GM or even IM or FM. You should get their little by little, not in one big jump.

What i am saying is we must have a goal to get say 200 more elo every time but our over goal or the achievement we must have should be the GM title. or else we will feel satisfied with the rating we have and not have the inspiration to go for the GM title 

+1 Take one step at a time. First get to 1400 and then go from there. Intervals of 200 is a big gap - especially at higher ratings since opponents make less and smaller mistakes. This means that 1200 to 1400 is going to be easier than 1400 to 1600 rating.

I don't think it is really ever "too late" though. Mikhail Tal is a good example of this; he didn't reach his peak rating of 2700+ until he was 44 years old. Many GMs also got their title towards the very end of their life (some through norms and some via honorary titles).

I would just have fun with chess and try to put more emphasis on learning the game than on achieving a title. Ratings and titles will come if you learn the game well

What you are talking about is sub goals. What i am talking about is a main goal

i dont think there 'should' be a correlation between your age and mastering. world elite top players are different, do not compare yourself with them.. they are gifted and they usually became gm at their 13-14 but we -normal people- have to study a lot to get a title. it can be at your 20 or 30 or 50.. it depends how much you want it and how much time you can spend for it.

Erik Kislik made it to IM starting at age 18 if I'm correct.

But it is super rare and hard.

OP you should focus on improving and enjoying first imho.

Take it one step at a time. Some make the mistake of rushing to try to get to GM when there is a long journey along the way.

It’s too late when you’re 6 feet under.