Should I retake a class?

Answered

So right now I have an unweighted GPA of around 3.3 (at the end of this year I should have around 3.46). I did really bad in 9th grade and got 4 C's (2 c's in the first semester, 2 c's in the second semester). I got a C- in 8th grade while taking an algebra 1 course that counted towards my HS credit. This was during the pandemic. My district has a policy that allows families to remove bad grades that counted towards HS credit in middle school so I think I am going to remove that one. I am ahead in credits (I am a junior and at the end of this year I will have 18.5 credits, when I should have 16 to be on track to graduation), so I don't think that removing this from my transcript will affect me. I also only attained .5 credits from this class in middle school since I only completed 1 semester. Anyways, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to retake the classes from 9th grade to try to get A's. I got two b's in sophomore year, and one in my junior year so far, so I think it is realistic to assume I will have all or mostly all a's in senior year. I calculated some things and based on my grades, if I retake the classes I got a C in and get an A, as well as remove the middle school C-, I will have a GPA of 3.8 unweighted, assuming I get all a's in senior year. If I don't remove anything or redo anything, my GPA at the end of senior year will probably be 3.6. Is it worth it? For reference, I want to apply to Stanford, UCLA, or UC Berkeley (I don't live in California so I know my chances are even lower to being accepted). I did horribly in 9th grade due to it being probably one of the worst years of my life. In case this matters, I am first gen, Hispanic, and low income. I am also taking a lot of AP classes as well as dual enrollment, and so far, I am getting good grades (I got a B+ in AP English, but the rest of my AP's have been straight A's so far). I have decent EC's. This summer I am conducting cancer research with college advisors and I am also starting a business. During my last year of HS I will volunteer 30 hours in researching a specific disease (idk which yet), and in 10th grade I did Chess Club as well as Girls Who Code. I am not asking what my chances are into getting into these schools, but I wanted to share my EC's to demonstrate that I am really trying here. What should I do with my GPA? Should I retake the classes and boost my GPA significantly, or leave it as it is? What would colleges like to see? Please let me know, this is really stressing me out.