Rough Junior a year

I suggest doing your best in your senior year to show an upward curve for your grades, and seek help from teachers/online resources/tutors, etc. Keep up with your ACT score improvements. Don't overwhelm yourself with too many AP courses or Honors courses. Learn from your previous years to recognize your strong suits and week suits, and take courses that you are confident you will do well in. AP/Honors Courses would help your weighted GPA, but your unweighted GPA is dependent on your overall performance. Try to balance this out. GPA matters to a certain extent. If your GPA is in 3.5-3.7 range, then I would say don't worry too much, and instead focus on making that up through other parts of your application.

There are two things that could help you stand out: Extracurriculars and Essays. As I mentioned you have about 6-8 months before you start applying, so make good use of this time by taking initiatives. Continue with your current volunteer work, but make sure to also try volunteering in a medical setting if you aren't already doing so. That's great experience! You can try joining organizations (nonprofits mainly) that advocate for any medical related topic that you're interested in like Red Cross, FIMRC, UNICEF, etc. if your school has clubs for any of these or you may even be able to join local chapters. This will open up many opportunities for leadership roles, educative/interactive events, volunteer work, certifications etc. If this doesn't seem too appealing, you can also try joining local groups combating local issues where you might have a higher chance of taking up leadership initiatives, since they are always on the lookout for more help. Try to do part time jobs over the summer at restaurants or grocery stores, etc. This may not directly relate to med, but it builds/showcases character. Club leadership roles may be hard to gain at this point, but you could try. INITIATIVE IS VERY IMPORTANT: Host events/campaigns/donations drives related to medical advocacy to spread awareness and take action for local issues. Other options would be tutoring, blog writing, social media pages (YouTube Channels, Instagram Accounts, etc.) to showcase your talents, etc. Try to make the most out of ANY talent that you might have. For example: Gather a bunch of people who're good at knitting to make a bunch of scarves to donate to children at foster homes; Play piano at your local Church or Community Center or Refugee Shelters; etc. Any talent can be used to make an impact. Start brainstorming ideas for essay topics. I suggest watching YouTube videos of ivy league admissions essays for tips and ways to stand out in that part of your application.

I would suggest that you try your best until the end in a planned manner with self-awareness of the extent of your capabilities to improve your ECs, test scores and grades. You can start by making a college list with safeties, targets and reaches. Consider different options for your college pathway with your parents and counselors at school. I highly suggest meeting with your school counselor to get better insight and advice on career pathways. Don't fret over the fact that the schools you're currently aiming for aren't the same as your dream schools from before. Since you're going into med, you will need to apply to college again anyways. You can build up a better resume during undergrad and try again for med school programs to your dream schools. Good luck!! If you need any more specific advice, you can always ask me :)

Take a med-related class and also do some STEM-related internships. And yes, do a couple of AP classes. Hope this helps!

I took harder classes this year if that can help me out