I went to SMDEP Virginia. I would suggest for you to make sure you write something that relates more to you and not so much what your parents have done for you. It's cool to write about your family stuff, cause that does affect you, but focus more on yourself. I wouldn't worry about the character limit, as long as you write well and efficiently. Be careful, thing about SMDEP is that the 2 essays are probably worth more than any of the rest of the app. I knew some people who barely had 3.0's and got into it. It's really all about your story. Let's hope you're a minority/underprivileged cause if not, there has to be something about you that REALLY shines -- academic and experience wise. Another thing about experience-- be careful because they don't really wanna see someone who has done it all. It's a program for people to see what it's like...but it's a goood resume builder I think. I personally learned a lot of stuff....and was the best summer of my life. Good luck!
