I completed my college applications a few months ago, so I might as well reiterate to you what I was told. Remember that the best resource you have availiable to you is your school's college/career counselor, though; not some posters on an internet forum about elections.
1. Should I add political campaign volunteering to my resume/application. For certain colleges such as Hillsdale (my no. 2) I'll avoid it seeing as all my volunteering has been with Democrats, (Longjohn, Whitmer, Stabenow)
Yes! Community service, which includes political involvement, is a big deal with college applications nowadays.
2. I am a first gen college student and the child of a veteran who died due to service related illness, so should I mention those at all in my essays or would that make me look like I'm trying to be a sob story.
If you're using Common App, you're required to state your parents' educational attainment, and chances are, your teacher/counselor letter of recommendation will mention it too. If you feel like your experience as an upcoming first-generation college student is central to who you are or a major challenge you've had to overcome, then don't hesitate with the essay; just make sure it's well-crafted.
The same can be said for your other experience. If you just plan to write about how the death made you a miserable person and permanently derailed your life, then don't bother. You're wasting time you could be using to write a better essay. Briefly mention it in the additional information section, though, or tell your college counselor(s), because college administrators will definitely look upon your application more leniently.
3. How can I recover my GPA from a bad freshman year (1.7) decent sophomore year (3.4) and good jr. Year so far (3.
other than redoing credits I failed?
I had a similar problem. Does your High School weigh AP/IB/Honors classes? If you're up to the challenge, taking a couple of them second semester and senior year could immensely increase your GPA. College administrators might also look the other way on your GPA if your ACT/SAT scores are exceptionally high.
4. What extracurriculars do college most like when it comes to admissions, I have 3 varsity sports, JROTC, and around 100 CS hours, but is there anything colleges really like?
Leadership. Student council is the gold standard, but for a lot of high schools, it's just a popularity contest. Are you the captain of any of the varsity teams you're on? Ignoring whether you are or not, your extracurricular profile sounds pretty good to me.
