Sure? It's not for me, it's for anyone else that looks at this thread.
Thanks though!
Sure!
So, in terms of my stats, when I applied to SUIP(sophomore year) I had already done 4 semesters of research at my school in two labs similtaneously . My GPA was a 3.9(?) and my 2 rec letters were from professors that could really speak about my skills as a prospective researcher. I only applied to 3 programs that year and got into my third choice, which was fortunately at the University of Pennsylvania. I don't remember where I got rejected from that year.
In terms of my experience at Penn, it was truly amazing even though the research was in a field that I wasn't SUPER familiar with. The people were all really varied in terms of stats, but I remember the lowest GPA was like a 3.5, the average was a 3.85, and the acceptance was less than 5%. Something that I should point out is that most (~90%) of the people involved were minorities and everyone had done some form of research prior, as far as I'm concerned. It was definitely stressful at times since you're conducting research full-time, but it was an enriching experience nonetheless.
When it comes to Harvard, my stats were essentially the same (GPA was higher) and now I had a rec letter from my Penn PI. I was also admitted to Penn (again), Cornell, and Brown (basically?). Rejected from: JHU, MIT-Amgen.
The people at Harvard SHURP came from much more varied in terms of majors (more engineers) and there were even freshmen involved! Still, I think everyone was doing research and I think everyone but 1 person were minorities of some sort (myself included). There was a range of GPAs again, with the lowest being a 3.5 (I think?). Still, everyone was amazing regardless of credentials--their passion for research really showed.