How can I get into Berkeley University?

What should I do in High School to get into a top ranking university?

• I'm a sophomore in High School and I just finished my first semester. I'm not involved in any extracurricular activities yet, but I plan on joining a club or two this coming semester. I'm also going to do some volunteering in the next two and a half years so I'll be able to put that on my college resume. Here are the course I've taken thus far... Freshman: Earth Science (I wouldn't have enrolled in this if I had the choice, it was required) Honors Algebra 2 Honors World History P.E. (This was also required) Spanish 1 English -My weighted GPA at the end of my Freshman year was something like 4.05 ----------------- Sophomore: AP Economics Honors Pre-Calc. Computer Art Spanish 2 Honors Biology Honors English I ended the first semester with a weighted GPA of 4.227 I plan on taking Spanish 3 next year (I read somewhere that 3-4 years of a foreign language looks good on a resume), AP US History next year, AP Government my senior year, AP Calc. BC next year, AP Statistics my senior year, and maaaaybe AP European History my senior year (I might choose not to if the workload for AP Gov. is too much). I'm also considering taking AP Language and AP Biology. All of the classes that I enroll in that aren't AP will be honors. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be valedictorian because I didn't get straight A's my freshman year, but I still plan on having a very high cumulative weighted GPA. What else should I do to increase my chances of getting into a top university? I don't know what I want to major in yet so I guess it's hard to aim for getting into a specific university, but I'll probably try to get into an Ivy League or UC Berkeley. I'm a white male (dunno if that makes a difference) and I'd be going to an Ivy League or UC Berkeley from out-of-state. Will that hurt my chances? Also, I took the PSAT a couple of months ago and scored in the following percentiles: 87% in Critical Reading, 85% in Mathematics, and 95% in Writing Skills. I didn't prepare for the PSAT like I probably should have so these scores aren't my best. I'll be eligible for the merit scholarships when I take it as a Junior next year.

• Answer:

  Take AP classes and score high on the AP exams. And have a high GPA. Also get involved in the community. Visit a foreign country in one of the Summers and score high on the ACT/SAT.