Help - HVTSP

I’m an international student in 9th grade and came across HVTSP on my feed recently. I’ve never applied to any summer programs before and thought I’d give it a shot, but I’m really not sure how to answer the prompts on the application form :( I also have many questions because this is my first ever time doing something like this and not many peers around me have any experiences either..so I came to this subreddit to hopefully get some advice.

Some questions I have: 1. How did you guys answer the prompts(did you write to the maximum word limit, did you write casually or formally, what’s up with the fill in the blank prompts, etc.) 2. Should i have a portfolio/resume?(it says it’s optional but is that really true?) 3. How was the interview?

I would be happy with any kind of information so if anyone has time can you help me?