OP- a little something I’ve learned from my friends and co-workers who have kids at prep schools/top boarding schools:
Their college counselors know how to avoid “bunching”. What does that mean? If the top 8 kids in the class are applying to Princeton, number 11 is going to get an enthusiastic recommendation for Cornell, and number 18 is going to get an enthusiastic suggestion to “check out Northwestern” and number 32 is going to be encouraged to look at Lehigh. These HS’s are generally tough with high standards AND top students… and yet year after year, these students end up at one of their top choice colleges.
Why? They are separated from each other early in the process to minimize what happens at my local HS where ALL the “smart kids” are applying to the same 12 schools. They are encouraged to fall in love with a realistic list of schools, not like at my local HS where one year it’s “Stanford of bust” and the next year it’s “Columbia or bust”. So that the Stanford wannabee who ends up at CMU feels like its sloppy seconds (which it’s not) and the Columbia Wannabee who ends up at NYU or Fordham feels like the world has come to an end.
You can do this for yourself. Everyone at your competitive HS is in love with Brown? Take a look at Rice. Everyone is talking about MIT? Look at Michigan. Your list does not have to look like everyone else’s list, especially if your fellow students are as hard-working and ambitious as you are. You are going to shine and be an outstanding candidate if you cast a wider net than your peers. If you are in the top 5% you really have nothing to worry about re: college admissions. The only possible mess up is if you choose the wrong list! Read some of the threads here- top kids, applied to ten schools, admitted nowhere. Yes, that can happen.
But that won’t be you because at least three schools on YOUR list are going to be places which would LOVE to have you!!!
You really can’t meaningfully change your GPA right now- or suddenly become someone you are not. So focus on what’s under your control- your list.