Mostly As, a few extracurriculars, passionate but struggling to show it
Hard work, dedication and communication skills to show the passion.
- Essays that reflect that passion
- Taking the most rigorous schedule you can handle
- Doing well in your courses (which you have been)
- Staying dedicated to your ECs and taking on roles within your organizations
- Studying and doing well on your standardized tests (taking the PSAT/PLAN when offered)
- Applying :)
By not being average. Average student are not desirable applicants for top colleges. You must distinguish yourself. There are many avenues to take for that. Also, since there are so many top colleges. If you just mean the top 10, seats are limited. If you mean the top 50 then you likely have some room to find a good fit.
For super-selective schools, you are probably looking at targeting 3.9+ (unweighted) in rigorous courses, 2250+ SAT or 34+ ACT, state or national level achievement or award in an EC, good essays, and good recommendations. People talk about passion, but it is best if the passion results in some high level achievement.
Well, it depends on what you mean by top, too. I think if your goal is one of the top 50ish colleges, then a 3.6+ unweighted with a 30+ on the ACT or a a 2000-2100 or so on the SAT will get you into one of those. A 2100 on the SAT puts you in the 96th percentile of test-takers. You only need to be astronomical if your goal is absolutely to get into one of the top 10-15 or so.
How are you struggling to show passion? If you truly are passionate about something it will nag you until you do it. So if you are passionate about community service, for example, you will be truly happy when you do service activities, and will do it for the fun of it and not for college apps. You don’t have to start a club or be president, and for the majority of great to excellent colleges, you don’t even have to win an award. You just need to show meaningful involvement.
By not being average. When a school is in a position to admit the best, why would they take average?
If being among the best is not an option, there are many excellent schools that provide an outstanding education to average students who snow initiative and work hard.
You’re already making in invalid assumption. For top schools there are no “desirable applicants” unless Stanford is one of your dream choices and you are a 5-star athletic recruit or your dad lives in the White House (worked for Chelsea). “Desirable” implies “good chance to get in” and that simply isn’t true at the most selective colleges.
Read “How To Be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport.