No really..things have change a lot since we went to school. Read the book, 'what High Schools Don't Tell You' although do bring the grain of salt. MIT admissions blog is very good too.
The strategy I generally recommend is go to the free school (State U, generally), get a 4.0 (or whatever high GPA you desire), and then you are fine for grad school.
I can only speak in terms of dental school and law school though.
College = High School now, so Grad School = College.
And College should be free for the high achiever. This advice does not apply to underachievers.
