Hey, what are some way that I can prepare as a high school freshman to improve my chances of being accepted into some of the top schools in the country? I already know to join various clubs, teams, sports, and honor societies. How can I individualize myself from the rest of the admission pool?
APs And honors, then study for the SAT or ACT the summer before you start you junior year. Take the test your junior year and try getting a job. GL
1.) Get good grades - essential to your GPA
2.) Take challenging classes like AP’s, but only take them if you 100% know you can handle them. Don’t try to take every single hard class if you no you’re not going to succeed.
3.) You could start SAT/ACT prep now. Math covered on the SAT is Basic Math, Algebra II, Geometry, Algebra II, and a small part of trig. If you’re an advanced math student you could probably take the ACT and SAT both at least once in your sophomore year. Also purchasing a prep book might help a little bit, however by the time you take the SAT it will be the redesigned version. Look into SAT subject tests as well.
4.) Extra-curriculars are very important (as you said above). Just make sure not to overlook these.
5.) When you apply to colleges your essays WILL matter.
6.) Establish good relationships with teachers, your guidance counselor, principal, etc. You’re going to need recommendations from some of these people when you apply to colleges. Give them a chance to know you and prove to them that you’re an excellent candidate for admission into top schools.
7.) Researching colleges so you can set goals for yourself. Make a list of maybe 10 colleges to look at and think about why you would choose them. Look at the cost, location, majors/minors, admission profiles, tours, etc. Also attending a college fair would be a good idea too.
8.) Enjoy high school. It flies by. Be organized, develop good study habits, be involved, etc. Time flies by, it really does. High school is a learning experience and you’ll get experienced with stuff along the way to write your essays about, contests to enter, etc. Don’t worry too much about it now. I hope my above advice helps 
Best of luck to you!
While its nice to have an eye on college admissions down the road, more important IMHO is to use these years to do things for yourself and your benefit. So here’s what I wish someone had told me when I was 15.
There’s a saying that the last thing you expect a fish to discover is water, so your day-to-day life probably seems routine and unremarkable. Yet this is the last time in your life you’ll see your parents & siblings on a daily basis. Right now it may feel like that’s too much, but once its over its going to be over forever. So make an effort to enjoy some time with them these next few years. The memories & bonds you make today are going be be a big part of the glue holding you together. Similarly make time for your friends.
As for school, if you take care of the learning then the grades tend to take care of themselves. Colleges really look for students with an inner love of learning. Its a funny thing that in your 12 years of schooling thru HS graduation, you’ll probably never get even an hour’s instruction in how to learn; its just what to learn. There’s a I highly recommend called What Smart Students Know by Adam Robinson, written by one of the founders of the Princeton Review prep service. I have never seen a better explanation of the steps you need to follow to really learn the material. You can also find lots of material on the web
BTW you are not limited to the teachers in your school; I hate seeing kids whine in the forum “I had a bad teacher” to try to excuse a bad grade. There have long been workbooks and other resources out there, and in just the past 5 years or so programs like iTunesU have opened up avenues that were once unthinkable. You can watch some of the best profs in the country lecture on almost any subject under the sun, including ones overlapping what you’re learning in school. And this applies even if your teachers are good; watch some of these series to supplement what you’re getting in class.
Many kids think if they take part in everything they are showing colleges they are well-rounded and eager to participate. You said you plan on joining a bunch of things. This is not what colleges want! Colleges build a well-rounded class out of people that are passionate about pursuing their ECs, but just one or two of them. To continue in this vein, building an impressive number of volunteer hours is not what perks up the eyes of adcoms. 400 volunteer hours is a lot, but a adcom is much more interested in the kid who organized the events, got local businesses to donate, and was recognized on a city or state level. There is a thread with several posts by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html 2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How to Be Impressive](The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save This Grind?](Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with everything in them, take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.
Thanks @southernbell16 and @mikemac
@mikemac wow incredibly informative reply which I learned a lot from! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and time.