can a bad personal statement really hurt your chances?

[hoping2004]

hey guys,
this is an awesome site you've got going here! congrats to such a friendly forum 🙂 anyway, i submitted my AMCAS early june, and the more and more i read my personal statement...i realize how HORRIBLY it's written, how it's very much like a list of things i've done, and how it's not very cohesive. i have average stats (31R, 3.9 GPA), went to an ivy, good extracurriculars, but my essay stinks. do you think admissions committees will pass me by with a bad personal statement? to those who have gotten in, let me know how important you think the ps is.
sigh...
thanks for any input.

...stressing...

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[surfdevl02]

First of all, your stats are not avg! A 3.9 gpa isn't shabby....anyhow, as for the personal statement, it's not something to be taken lightly but as long as it's decent and you seem sincere it shouldn't stop you from getting interviews..beyond that point it's a lot of interpersonal skills that you either possess or you don't.

From my own experience, i have subpar numbers but i got some interviews i didn't think i could get because of my personal statement. For those that have not submitted yet.....DON'T simply state activities and awards that you have stated in other parts of your application. You're just wasting your time if you do. You have a page to make yourself stand out so don't use it restating something that they've already read out. Hook the reader in some way and if you're lucky, they'll be more lenient on the numbers and want to interview you just cause you seem like an interesting candidate they'd like to chat with.

 

[LukeWhite]

With your stats, you'll certainly make first cuts nearly everywhere. Nearly every secondary has at least one essay beyond your AMCAS essay, and many have multiple, very specific essays. As long as you do well on these, you should be in excellent shape.

But as the person above me said, make sure you have a hook...it's my belief that the anecdote/conclusions drawn/application to goals in medicine format works as well as anything. But regardless, don't stress. You're in excellent shape and will have plenty of secondaries to write great essays.

 

[JlazyMD]

Remember that sometimes we are our own worst critics... just because you think it stinks doesn't necessarily mean your essay is bad. What do friends, your pre-med advisor, your parents think of it? As long as it is resonably decent, I don't think your essay will hold you from many interviews.

On the other hand, if it really is BAD, i.e., will make adcoms think you are truly uninteresting, or have qualities that will make for a bad doctor, then the statement could be a real killer to your chances for an interview.

Best of luck, I'm sure you will do fine. Adcoms know how tough a 3.9 from an Ivy (except Brown maybe🙂 is.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

A bad essay will sink you. Trust me. Most essays are average, very few are exceptional, very few are bad. Those that are bad will sink you. Be interesting. Be grammatically correct. Be concise.

 

[Moskeeto]

I don't know about other schools, but here at Davis, the head of admissions and outreach has said he's thrown out perfectly good applicants because of their essays. He put a ton of stress on the importance of it.

 

[autumnleaves]

Hey Hoping,

My advice is to not stress over it anymore. You cant turn back and redo your PS now. So there's no point in losing sleep over it. You have great stats and just put in more effort in your secondaries.

goodluck!