For nearly every college, getting a high GPA and taking hard classes and doing well on the SAT/ACT is enough to guarantee admission. Like yourself, I didn't have too many extracurriculars. I played racquetball, but that was designated a club. I also joined the track and field team my senior year. As far as clubs go, NHS was really the only big one I was in. But I had a high GPA, I took a lot of AP and IB classes, and I did well on the SATs. I was accepted by every college that I applied to (including four private schools) and I received scholarship offers from them all.

Every school offers financial aid. You can almost guarantee yourself achievement-based awards if you do well enough in schools, and need-based scholarships are also pretty easy to get if your family or situation qualifies. Your high school may offer some scholarships, and scholarships are also available through people and organizations in your local, and also the national, community.

The best person to talk to would be your school's guidance or college counselor. He/she would know exactly what scholarships are available and what you need to do in order to be applicable for them. The counselor would also help you figure out what classes you should be taking.

I would not recommend pursuing an extracurricular activity just so that your college applications look better. You probably won't enjoy it that way. But look around your school at different clubs and activities to see if any interest you. If not, perhaps you can start your own club. Taking initiative like that could be seen as a very positive thing by colleges.

I'm not quite at an Ivy League school, but I'm definitely at an awfully good school... I managed to get into the University of Michigan, and am guaranteed one of the 75 spots they open in their School of Pharmacy once I've completed the 2 years of prerequisites. My high school was tiny, and horribly managed, and thus offered AP classes only my senior year, and only online. So my GPA was only a measly 3.8, on the 4.0 scale we had. I got a 30 on the ACT, with a 32 on the science section. I had very VERY few extracurriculars. Band. That was really about it. Oh, and some community service I through myself at the summer between my junior and senior years just to have some.

But I got in to a very very good school, with guaranteed acceptance to the 2nd-highest-rated Pharmacy School in the country. And I am also being paid by the school to come here. 8P (I received about $1,400 from it this year, beyond them paying my tuition and housing fees.)

Well my GPA has been fluctuating lately with some As going to A-s, and A-s to B+s (I also do worse 3rd term, dont know why), so exactly what GPA should I aim for?

Math A- Spanish B+ Science A- History A English A

And by measly 3.8, how is that measly? That's like an A in all classes isn't it? Even I can't get into Honors roll (All As in all major subjects) with 5 kids out of 300 getting it the first term, and then 10 the second. Would I have to be in the top 10 to get in a good college?

I assume in his school, as in mine, AP classes could boost your GPA above 4.0.

They would, but AP classes weren't offered until I was a senior, and the only one I took in such a way that they wouldn't alter my GPA one way or another.

On my school's 4.0 GPA scale, a 3.8 was a very high A- GPA... But there were a handful of people with 4.0's, so I call my 3.8 measly. :P

As for a GPA you should shoot for, I don't really have an answer for that. But the top 10 thing isn't always necessary. I wasn't in the top 10 of my graduating class, by GPA at least.

I just want to point out that my high school had something like a 12 point GPA system.

Oh, and, while I'm not going to reveal my school, it's not too shabby, and I was 25th out of a class of 250, GPAwise.

not going to reveal my college, that is.