<p>Hey guys. This isn’t the official thread by SMDEP.</p>
<p>I had a few questions and I was hoping you guys would be kind enough to review them.</p>
<p>My stats:</p>
<ol>
<li>Current Freshman</li>
<li>4.00 GPA (science, overall, no weights)</li>
<li>Course load includes…
Honors Biology with Laboratory
General Chemistry
General Chemistry Laboratory
Honors Freshman English
Calculus 1 with Trig
Entrepreneurship</li>
<li>Honors Program</li>
<li>Member of extremely selective Entrepreneurship Program</li>
<li>Founder/CEO of two start-up businesses. One of them is a unique non-profit organization that has been invested in by a CEO/Founder of x company (trying to be vague), while the other is a social media application expected to launch next year. Both start-up companies have websites which will be listed on the application.</li>
<li>My essays are well written, sincere, and overall good; but I wouldn’t say they’re exceptionally stellar in terms of content. I discussed my high school hospital volunteering experience and how it lead me to realize my passion for medicine.</li>
<li>I will hopefully have a good recommendation from my Entrepreneurship professor (who knows me very well), and maybe a good recommendation from my Chemistry professor (who doesn’t know me well, but I did exceptionally well in her class).</li>
<li>I have a 2120 SAT (660 CR, 720 M, 740 W)</li>
<li>I have no post-secondary shadowing/research/volunteering experience.</li>
<li>I do not qualify as low-income, under-served, or minority. I am of South Asian descent, and I was born in America.</li>
</ol>
<p>Having said all of that, I am currently considering which three universities to apply for SMDEP. I would like to have a general “safety” pick and/or a match. I would like to have one or two reaches.
I’ve more or less narrowed down to UVa, Howard, Yale, and Columbia.</p>
<p>QUESTION: Judging by my stats, would you say that these narrowed down choices are realistic, reasonable targets? I recognize that the fact that I have no post-secondary shadowing/research/volunteering experience will hurt me. I also recognize that the fact that I am not low-income, under-served, or minority will also likely play against me. I’ve heard people with high GPAs have often gotten rejected from Howard and other schools because they weren’t under-represented minorities with low income.</p>
<p>Any feedback would be appreciated.</p>