You have answered the “why it’s so important to you” question so I won’t go in to that. The problem is beyond telling you to do your best and apply no one can tell you “How” to get accepted into the most prestigious institutions. That you need to be at the top of your class with superior grades and tests scores is a given. The lower the stats the less likely you will even be given anything beyond a cursory look. Frankly if I had the answer it would change by the time you applied as everyone who felt like you would be doing those very things and you would no longer stand out.
I see college as a means to education which hopefully will result in achieving other more important goals rather than a goal in and of itself. Where you go isn’t nearly as important in my opinion as what you do when you get there. Good luck.