SR-EIP Program Information & How was it?

Hey everyone! I'm a rising sophomore with previous research experience and work an average of over 10 hours a week in a lab at my university, 4.0 gpa. I'm working on applying to sr-eip programs but have not much of idea of what to expect or (more importantly) how the application process works/is evaluated.

1. Does ranking matter a lot?

2. Should both my LORs be from a college professor or can one be from my lab mentor and the other from a high school teacher I was super close with?

3. What was your SR-EIP experience like? Do some schools emphasize MD/PhD track and networking more than others? Would it be better for me to rank those higher compared to those that are more PhD focused, even if the latter has more research labs available in my field?

Elaboration: I want to do MD/PhD so looking at one program (Cornell Gateways) for that but some other programs are closer aligned to my research. I'm worried that if I rank Cornell as my top even though research opps are less closer aligned to what I do it'll hurt my chances. Same goes if I rank another program second that's better for my research interest. Other programs have more emphasis on PhD and labs are more aligned with my research but I like that Cornell emphasizes Md/PhD specifically.

There are SO many sites and I'm honestly getting overwhelmed lol. Like wdym I can only pick 3. I just want to get into one, but I want to make sure I am compatible with the program and it helps me on my MD/PhD journey.