<p>Lack of publications? It is VERY unheard of for an undergraduate in their first or beginning of second year to be published, especially when as an intern you’re only assisting someone on a project and it’s nearly impossible to gain access to the funding and credentials necessary for a published paper… I am pretty sure that Columbia and Duke will not see my experience as completely insignificant and worthless additions to my application because it was not published! </p>
<p>My low GPA was a testament to my inability to do well on completely MCQ style formatted exams (hence my low SATs and a number of my first year exams), something I know I need to work on but this had nothing to do with extracurriculars…</p>