I’m not a college student but I am a professional in education, I’ve advised students and learned a lot from my own. I advise students to be fully engaged in whatever activities (school too) they are involved in. Why in the world would anyone structure 4-8 years of their life around what might get them into a place where they will spend only 4 years of their life? That isn’t to say you can just forget about academic expectations. You need to excel academically for life-not for college. Next, what are your values and interests? How can you get most involved in things that are meaningful to you? Dabbling in everything and checking off some laundry list (Volunteering x hours, check) of activities is not what is most meaningful to most people nor does it tend to produce/add to the world much. So instead focus on a few things and try to make your involvement meaningful. Seems like you are on the right track with that. You like to write and plan to submit your writing for publication. You will get reviews when you do that which will help you. Do you belong to any writing societies? Are there any geared towards students? If so, they may be geared towards college students but that’s ok. Take academic risks. Put yourself out there. Allow your work to be critiqued and use the reviews constructively (don’t recoil, for example). A nice side effect of being fully engaged in your activities is that they will end up being more meaningful and ultimately could help with college-but don’t do it for that reason. Life is more meaningful when you pursue activities that are meaningful to you.