How can I make up for doing poorly freshman year?

<p>I got a 2.6 GPA and a 3.1 GPA and no extracurriculars. This summer I had an epiphany that if I want to do good in life I need to put effort! Next year I will have 2 honors classes & an AP class, Junior year I will have 5 AP classes & a normal one. I'm very passionate with helping others so I'm going to join all the clubs at my school that are related to helping out. If I do excellent academically will I have a chance? What if I'm well rounded? Thanks for your answers :)</p>

<p>If you get a 4.0 from here on out, you’ll have a culm GPA of 3.67 by the end of your first semester Senior year. It’s quite a feat but if you attain that, you’ll have a good selection of solid colleges to target. However even with that, top tier selective colleges are not viable.</p>

<p>You should expend more energy on your classes than your ECs. If it’s the difference btn having 0 ECs + a 3.67 GPA or a ton of ECs + a 3.0 GPA, you should ALWAYS do the former. 85% of colleges (and all the colleges you’ll likely target) will GIVE NO ADVANTAGE to you based on your ECs. It’s a myth</p>