I agree that a higher GPA would be a very good thing. I am assuming you are giving us an unweighted GPA, if your 3.4 is weighted your options are more limited. But by 2nd semester junior year, the student already has 5 of the 7 semesters that count in the GPA (in some cases 6 semesters, depending on when apps are due) in the bank. Mathematically it is hard to do too much with GPA. However, OP, colleges do like an upward trend, and a stronger GPA this semester and in the fall could give you a boost. If you want out of Illinois, hit the books harder. I would also study and take another shot at the ACT, see if you can gain a point or two. Your score is solid now, but a better score can help offset your GPA. I’d say focus on grades during this semester, then study for the ACT this summer and take it again in the fall (because a small GPA boost opens up some options, as you will see in the link at the very end of this post).
Being biracial is going to be a boost for you at many schools, you would be considered an underrepresented minority
Do you know what you want to study? Are you set on a larger school, or would a liberal arts college also suit you? If you aren’t sure, try to visit one of each. It is okay to visit locally, you are just trying to get a feel for the type of campus. Liberal arts schools that aren’t too far away to check out would be Lake Forest (in Illinois), Carleton or St. Olaf (in Minnesota,both in Northfield), or Beloit or Lawrence (both in Wisconsin).
However… you also want to apply to colleges that meet need (at least by their definition). Here is a link to a US News list of colleges that “meet need”. So you are more likely to get the financial aid you need to attend if you are admitted. Some of these are also “need aware” in admissions, so they don’t always admit students who have high need, but you do have the hook of being a minority IF you can get your stats to a level they want.
A few colleges that commit to meeting most need (over 95%) that aren’t on this list because they want to say they meet 100% of need are Babson, Bucknell, Dickinson, Lafayette, and St. Olaf,
So… you still need to run net price calculators on each school you are interested in early in the process of looking at them. No point in pursuing a school you can’t afford. And what you want to find is a list of safety, match, and reach schools where you could be happy at any of them, and you are quite certain of being admitted and having your safeties be affordable.
It is hard to make specific recommendations without knowing what size college you want, your proposed area(s) of study (it is okay to list a few possibilities, we get that juniors aren’t sure yet!), and whether the GPA you have given us is unweighted.
Also, here are some automatic scholarship links. You can see that boosting your GPA to a 3.5 opens up some possibilities (like a full ride at Howard):