OP, seems you don’t really know what those schools look for, in general and for engineering. And looking for that info, then processing it, is a necessary part of the thinking and drive that tippy tops will look for, insist on.
This is NOT just a matter of ambling through hs, having some ECs, then throwing your hat in the ring and hoping lightning strikes. This is not going on assumptions, ambitions, or what some GC says. It’s what your actual record shows.
3.1 GPA: This is far lower than they expect, the bulk of kids who get past first cut will have 4.0 uw. Then kids who have maybe 1 or 2 A- or B’s, but not in the cores that matter.
Posters are right: your grades in hs indicate how dedicated you are, how hard you worked, and how prepared you are for the actual classes in that college. B level learning is not A level learning and readiness. What says you’re ready for MIT or Princeton?
Next, if you want engineering and a tippy top (or a school that offers top engineering programs,) you need math and sci ECs, collaborative experiences, not managing a team or starting some club or just racking up some vol hours. You need more than an idea or thinking it will be a nice career or you want to save the world.
In high school,“ambition” gets a pat on the head. People nod and say nice things. In college admissions, you have to have the goods. Ambition has to be proven out, in the record.
And there are so many kids whose family roots are in Africa who have been doing superbly, that’s not a hook for a B student with some usual ECs.
Sorry.