You are only in the 8th grade, so don’t worry too much yet. Just keep working hard, and keep getting the best grades (an unweighted 4.5+ cumulative gpa would be your best bet with an Ivy league school like UPenn. Take as many AP credits in subjects that you excel in if offered, that you can comfortably handle in high school, but don’t go overboard. Participate in extracurricular activities and get community service hours. Colleges like to see a well-rounded, strong academic student who’s actively involved in their community. However, everyone, even the best, most academically, well-rounded students have their limits.
Ivy League Liberal arts schools are big on five things: 4.5+ gpa students, students who take academically rigorous courses if offered, high standardized test scores, and family alumni (if your parents or grandparents graduated from UPenn, your more likely to get in).
Standardized test expected are in the 1980-2400 section for the SAT’s with the writing portion, which translates to a 30-36 on the ACT test+ writing. Those scores translate into the 95-99.96% percentile of students at or below the scores between 30-36 for the ACT. If you really want to improve your standardized test scores buy an ACT and SAT workbook. There’s an Official ACT test prep guide with 5 full length ACT tests called The Real ACT Prep Guide (http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/book.html). They also offer official SAT studyguide test books on the college board website along with a full online course (http://sat.collegeboard.org/sat-store). I was never a great test taker either, but I was never aiming for an amazing score to get into an Ivy League either. I just wanted to bring up my 19 composite score to a 23-25 on my ACT, and by studying hard for it, I did. I took tutoring classes my junior year as well. Take the ACT instead of the SAT, it’s a lot easier in my opinion. Since you are wanting to get into schools like UPenn, and your test scores are only so-so right now, start studying outside of school for them now until you get the score you are completely satisfied with when you apply your late junior or early senior year.
Also, just remember that college name means nothing. I was thinking like you before I graduated high school, thinking that I had to go to a big name school to feel like a successful, and fulfilled student in my parents perspective, but I learned that it means absolutely nothing if you get in, and then don’t work hard and move forward as a person. In short, don’t let the name of the college you go to define who you are as a person. I have an Uncle who was a Harvard graduate, who most likely smoked weed in college, and said that he wasn’t academically successful.