Don’t give up. Be positive and try your absolute best. My daughter went into senior year with a 3.4 and she was admitted to NYU. Fordham, Pace, Penn State, Boston University. and Syracuse. She was denied at Northeastern and wait-listed at George Washington.
Get a ton of help with your common app essay and your college specific essays. Work closely with an English teacher to ensure your story is clear. Also, be very specific in your NYU essay. Know which school you are interested in and give details as to why you want to go there.
She also applied to many scholarships. She got denied for most of them, but she did get the Burger King scholarship and the Horatio Alger scholarship. Her school saw how hard she worked and also gave her a scholarship.
btw… she will be attending NYU this fall with substantial financial aid even though everyone says they are stingy. .
Don’t give up OP. Try your best, you never know what colleges are looking for.