Hey there! (Thanks MYOS!)
You’re right about all of the basics that you absolutely have to be minimally competitive. Here are some ideas for being more competitive:
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Do at least one summer research experience. Since you are going into your sophomore year, you have time to do two! I would advise doing at least one (and ideally both of them) at a different university than your own. This allows you to expand your network and get 1-2 letters of recommendation from professors at other universities that have supervised your research, which will strengthen your application. You can look at the NSF REU site (Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences sites: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5054) to find some that are sponsored by the NSF. And here’s a broader list of summer research experiences, hosted by the Empirical Reasoning Lab at Barnard College (https://erc.barnard.edu/research_opportunities#summerresearch). These programs usually pay you a small stipend (usually on the order of $3-4K for the summer) and cover your housing costs.
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Talk to your psychology professors to choose your courses carefully. You want to make sure that you have strengths in psychological research methods and in statistics. If your department offers an upper-level course in statistics or methods beyond the introductory one, take it. If it doesn’t, but another social sciences department (often political science) does, take that one. If you like math and are pretty good at it, you might consider doing calculus-based statistics in the math department, but you’d have to take 2-3 semesters of calculus and probably linear algebra before being able to take that. Choose your courses based on what subfield you want to enter - if you want clinical (which it sounds like you do), take abnormal, for example.
You may also want to take a couple of related classes in other social sciences, just to explore your interests. For example, if you think you’re interested in the effects of race and class, it wouldn’t hurt to take Race, Class, and Gender in the sociology department; or if you are interested in the psychology of political behavior, see if you can find a class that’s relevant in the political science department.
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You will probably want to apply to more than 8 programs…I’d say 8 is a minimum. I’d advise in the realm of 10-12.
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Practice your writing skills; you may even want to take a class in the English department on professional writing or something. This will help you write a better statement of purpose, when the time comes.
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As you get research experience and take classes in the psychology department, pay attention to what you like and don’t like, and begin to shape an area of interest. This is probably the single most important part of your application; you could be an excellent applicant, but if your research interests don’t align with anyone’s in the department, you won’t get admitted. That’s because for PhD programs in psych, you are generally admitted to work with a specific professor (or at least you need to be able to be placed with a professor who matches your interests).
So follow your interests when it comes to trying out research, taking classes, and participating in extracurriculars. Any of those can help you define your interests. My research topic was partially inspired by a public health poster I saw in my residence hall that raised some questions for me!