How to Maximize Undergrad Experience?

Hey everyone, I've been lurking on WSO for almost a year and can't express how much I appreciate how much the site/users' input have helped me understand the field of finance to the extent I do now.

I know my post's title alludes to an incredibly broad topic, so I'll try to get my question across without wasting too many words.

Background on me:
-Currently a Freshman, Finance major, at UIUC
-Graduated near the top of my HS class with a 4.2/4.0 GPA, a ton of AP credit, scholarships, etc etc
-Got a 2.74 GPA first semester, by the end of this semester it'll probably be up to around 2.90~3.00
-Was the kind of kid in HS who breezed by with little effort, barely studied at all, always aced my tests
-Came to college and it's been a really tough transition; I never learned how to study in HS and I've been struggling to adapt here

Concerning non-GPA facts, this summer I'll be interning for my father's business (tech start-up) managing his finances, doing product cost analysis and modeling, etc. I also created his company's website by hand and am in charge of maintaining/updating it. I've worked on three congressional races and one senatorial race since high school (one during first semester here), and served as my pledge class president and social chair at a fraternity I later dropped. Beginning next semester I'll have founded and will be heading three registered student organizations on campus.

Post-grad, my ideal plan would be to either work for a few years at any kind of bank and then run for Congress, or go to grad school, work for an international governmental organization like the IMF/WTO/WB/UN...and then run for Congress. Either way I don't plan on staying in the finance field for too long.

^^So if any of you cared to read that, now you have a bit of insight on me. My life is going pretty well except for my pesky GPA. Which leads to my question:

Since most of you are either in college/graduates/professionals, what do you suggest to a) maximize my GPA while still maintaining a large presence on campus (social life) b) "get the most out of my college years". Regarding the latter question, in other words perhaps, "what do you wish you'd have done (more of) during your UG years?"

How did you guys study in your UG years? Did you use any "systems" to better understand your topics? How did you get through difficult courses that were taught by incompetent professors/TAs?

Do you think it's possible for me to REALISTICALLY graduate with a GPA > 3.7?

I'm in the camp that believes that success and failure is 99% dependent on the person and their motivations alone; typical Type A kinda guy. So it really bothers the hell out of me that I've dug myself into this hole my first year.

Any helpful comments/suggestions/advice/etc will be greatly appreciated, sorry for the wall of text.

Shoutout to the WSO Miscers; we're all gonna make it brahs