Admissions to a competitive school with a half competitive profile

First of all, I want you to think for a second about why you want to apply to a highly competitive college. If it is just for the "college brand," I would not at all recommend it. I will give you an example: My schoolmate recently got into Harvard. He was the best in school, possibly in the entire town, no doubt. Going from an environment where you are the best in town to going to a school where everyone is just as good as you or better is something that is hard to take for many people. There is this idea called big fish, small pond and small fish, big pond. The pond represents the school, and the fish represents the person. If you are looking long-term, it also matters whether you are an outstanding student at a small college or if you are just an average person at a prestigious university. There are many competitive or prestigious schools that have subjects that are not well managed. Choose a college that you think will truly provide you with what you want in the long term. There are many great 2-, 3-, and 4-tier colleges out there. With that being said, if you want to make your profile more competitive, I recommend getting online certified in your areas of interest. There are many certification courses out there, paid or free. There are online volunteering options, and if you are into coding, you can create an app and publish it in the App Store. You can also start a fundraiser for a cause that is important to you. There are many websites out there that already have causes that you can initiate or support. My best advice would be to advocate for yourself and give it your all in your essays. Remember that college is just a stepping stone; there is much more to come in the future. Relax, take a deep breath; you've got this!