<p>^ Colleges want you to demonstrate passion.
So, if your passions are media arts and languages, you can start a media arts club that works, a fanzine, a blog, contact the art teachers to see if an art and literary magazine could be published, whether you can organize a “cineclub” showing older/B&W/international films, etc;
and for languages: tutor in those languages, create culture clubs, convince your administration and school cafeteria to have an international food day at the cafeteria with authentic recipes provided by international students and world language teachers/advanced students, network with the international students at your school and create a “buddy system” for their welcoming and adaptation to the school especially when they arrive and don’t understand much, create a multilingual mini encyclopedia of the school (“the caf” = cafeteria = where we eat lunch…, maps “cafeteria seatings”, tricky problems and their solutions…)
In short: if the clubs that interest you don’t exist, create them and get involved in them (“club founder, president” will look very good on those college applications, regardless of the club, provided you did <em>something</em> :p).
Having a job many hours a week for more than a year, including working full-time and taking care of siblings also “count” as ECs for top college as long as you’ve shown commitment and responsibility through them (ie., that you didn’t have a string of jobs because you kept getting fired…:p)</p>
<p>Now, some schools won’t care and will admit you purely based on rank or (most often) a combination of test scores X GPA. But the schools that give the best financial aid (link below) require proof that you’re more than a good student, but also someone they want to have on campus, who’ll contribute to class discussions, bring something no one else can. All the colleges below are very to most selective. Those that may be the easiest to get into are in bold, plus Franklin&Marshall and St Olaf (plus perhaps Mount Holyoke, if you’re a girl).
<a href=“List of Colleges That Meet 100% of Financial Need”>http://www.thecollegesolution.com/list-of-colleges-that-meet-100-of-financial-need/</a></p>
<p>You don’t mention SAT/ACT scores: if you are a very good student, prepare during the summer so that you’re ready when you take the PSAT in the Fall. If you score very high, there’s scholarship money and full rides at the end. Even if you don’t get the NMSF/NMF scholarships, having a high score can help you get merit scholarships on top of your need-based financial aid.
What colleges were you thinking of?
Run the Net Price Calculators on all of them, as well as the colleges
You can prepare with free tools such as Khan Academy (for math), number2.com (it tracks your mistakes so that you work on improving until you get it right), from your public library you can borrow books such as Cracking the ACT or other prep books, follow Xiggi’s and Silverturtle’s free guide from this website (on the “Test” forum), and practice, practice, practice, using books like “Real ACTs” or “Real SATs”’ (respectively called “red book” and “'blue book”).</p>