Does the PS really matter much?

[rocketbooster]

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After doing all this last year, I realized I don't know how big of an impact the PS really has on your acceptance to med school. The adcoms know that these personal statements are all over-embellished. I really don't think the PS makes or breaks you. I think what makes or breaks you is the interview.

Your thoughts?

 

[savant]

Yes. It's one of those things that helps to get you an interview.

 

[buccsmf1]

i see the PS as a way of explaining some things.

you did poorly your freshman year

you did badly one semester due to family problems / death

lack of ECs

low MCAT compared to gpa

low gpa compared to MCAT

These are the types of things I see important to note in your PS. Virtually everyone is going to have at least one aspect of their application that they don't like and this is a good place to explain and deficiencies

Everyone is going to ramble about how much they want to go into medical school / the medicine industry... it's the same on every PS.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think it can have some impact if it is good, and definitely if it is very bad (i.e. typos, bad grammar, etc.).
I don't think it is as important as the MCAT, grades and the interview. However, if they hate your personal statement you may not make it to the interview.

 

[rocketbooster]

i see the PS as a way of explaining some things.

you did poorly your freshman year

you did badly one semester due to family problems / death

lack of ECs

low MCAT compared to gpa

low gpa compared to MCAT

These are the types of things I see important to note in your PS. Virtually everyone is going to have at least one aspect of their application that they don't like and this is a good place to explain and deficiencies

Everyone is going to ramble about how much they want to go into medical school / the medicine industry... it's the same on every PS.

yeah but that's exactly what you're NOT supposed to use the PS for hahaha. you are supposed to only write about your strengths in your PS...

 

[Appless]

yeah but that's exactly what you're NOT supposed to use the PS for hahaha. you are supposed to only write about your strengths in your PS...

No you are supposed to explain some things like gaps in education or if you started poorly then turned it around thats the point of the PS also. Or maybe extenuating curcumstances you overcame in life or anything that may have hindered your path. I think the PS is pretty important but honestly its going to like everything else vary by school and adcom. A good PS wont get you into school but it could well put you over the top to get an interview. A bad PS can defiantly kill you. At the very least a good PS may stick out in a committes mind and they at the very least may think about you more whihc is never a bad thing.

 

[rocketbooster]

No you are supposed to explain some things like gaps in education or if you started poorly then turned it around thats the point of the PS also. Or maybe extenuating curcumstances you overcame in life or anything that may have hindered your path. I think the PS is pretty important but honestly its going to like everything else vary by school and adcom. A good PS wont get you into school but it could well put you over the top to get an interview. A bad PS can defiantly kill you. At the very least a good PS may stick out in a committes mind and they at the very least may think about you more whihc is never a bad thing.

hmmm no. you're supposed to use your PS to write about the path that lead you to want to be a physician. adcoms want to see a story unfold leading to end point of wanting to be a doctor. the story isn't supposed to be written as a checklist of "okay, I needed research, volunteering, etc. to get into med school and did that here..." it's supposed show how you've developed, what you've learned, and how in the end they LED YOU to apply to medical school. wanting to apply medical school isn't supposed to be why you embarked on the journey of all your ECs. AFTER you did your ECs, you realized you want to be a doctor and not the other way around. this came straight from an adcom member I met with in person.

there are specific parts in secondaries that are for indicating gaps in education, problems you had to overcome, explaining extenuating circumstances, etc. I could see it being good bringing up extenuating circumstances in your PS, but only if you show how you grew and learned from them. you definitely do NOT want to blame bad grades on those circumstances. you could say like "while so and so impacted my academics this semester, I learned that blah blah and am a stronger person because of it." but even then, I don't think it's good to show how your grades drop because of something bad that happened in your personal life. they'll assume the samething could happen to you in medical school, which is a red flag for them..."this person cannot balance things well" or something like that...

 

[qmcat]

After doing all this last year, I realized I don't know how big of an impact the PS really has on your acceptance to med school. The adcoms know that these personal statements are all over-embellished. I really don't think the PS makes or breaks you. I think what makes or breaks you is the interview.

Your thoughts?

Don't think like this. I've seen too many of my pre-med friends do poorly in this application process because they assume that they can slack off in certain parts of the application. Applying to med school is so competitive nowadays that your ENTIRE application has to be STRONG. Do well on your PS, secondaries, interviews, everything.

That said, from my experience, the PS can definitely be important. A lot of times, when the adcoms are trying to figure out who to interview, they will have stacks and stacks of applicants with strong MCAT/GPA scores. Almost all of the strong applicants will have shadowing, volunteering, research. Use the PS as an opportunity to make yourself stand out. Write honestly about your reasons for going into medicine and make it interesting. Sure, the interview may be worth more, but you can't interview if the adcoms don't invite you first.

 

[witness23]

a bad PS will break you

 

[Brent8927]

The personal statement is very important--it's the only bit of "you" that the adcom really sees. Your MCAT and GPA only tell them about your abilities, not who you are. EC's might tell them a little bit about you, but it's pretty common to volunteer with a free clinic, take a trip to Africa, etc., so they really don't say too much about you either.

The personal statement is the part where you present who you are to the committee. To some programs it is extremeley important and can really help you; at other schools it is probably still extremeley important---as in a bad statement hurts you, but a great one just might just keep your file under consideration.

I would imagine, however, that the personal statement may have very little impact on your actual acceptance/rejection. It plays a significant part in obtaining an interview, but after the interview, it seems like the personal statement probably isn't quite as useful anymore, since the interview should ideally convey who you are even better than a peice of paper. (Note that I am just speculating here).

 

[buccsmf1]

I don't think it's good to show how your grades drop because of something bad that happened in your personal life. they'll assume the samething could happen to you in medical school, which is a red flag for them..."this person cannot balance things well" or something like that...

this is absolutely absurd. we are human beings..... not machines...... things that happen in our lives outside the hospital/university will undoubtedly affect our work. A guy in my dad's radiology group is slacking in his call right now but the group is giving him a break.... his 22 year old daughter just had a double mastectomy because she has breast cancer. so the group should "red flag" him because he's struggling at work right now? yea ok 🙄

 

[LiveUninhibited]

Show them you’re a unique snowflake, but not the kind that will melt easily…
Keep in mind that in open-file interviews they’ll probably draw from it for some questions, so you could make the end of the process easier or harder for yourself by writing an interesting but not overly embellished PS in the beginning.

 

[Col Kurtz]

hmmm no. you're supposed to use your PS to write about the path that lead you to want to be a physician. adcoms want to see a story unfold leading to end point of wanting to be a doctor. the story isn't supposed to be written as a checklist of "okay, I needed research, volunteering, etc. to get into med school and did that here..." it's supposed show how you've developed, what you've learned, and how in the end they LED YOU to apply to medical school. wanting to apply medical school isn't supposed to be why you embarked on the journey of all your ECs. AFTER you did your ECs, you realized you want to be a doctor and not the other way around. this came straight from an adcom member I met with in person.

there are specific parts in secondaries that are for indicating gaps in education, problems you had to overcome, explaining extenuating circumstances, etc. I could see it being good bringing up extenuating circumstances in your PS, but only if you show how you grew and learned from them. you definitely do NOT want to blame bad grades on those circumstances. you could say like "while so and so impacted my academics this semester, I learned that blah blah and am a stronger person because of it." but even then, I don't think it's good to show how your grades drop because of something bad that happened in your personal life. they'll assume the samething could happen to you in medical school, which is a red flag for them..."this person cannot balance things well" or something like that...

First, this is from the AMCAS section of the faq at U S Florida:

"What should my essay be about?
Each essay should be considered an opportunity to tell the schools you are applying to something about yourself. You should write in a style that is comfortable for you, despite the rumor that there is a special essay style we want to see. The essay expresses who you are and why you want to be a doctor. It is also your opportunity to explain something in your record or on the AMCAS application that may be questionable to us."

Second, no need to be snarky when people try to help by answering a question you posted. You asked about the import of the PS and someone answered with what they think can be effective. When you ask a question aimed at getting advice, it's bad form to have an attitude when someone attempts to answer it.

Third, look you did not get in last year, I would do my best to improve every improvable part of my application before reapplying. Even if you think one part is not that important, or that last year a particular part was fine, you should at least do some work to improve it.

Not trying to be a jerk, and I think it is quite an accomplishment to get into med school (meaning, I'm not slamming you for not getting in last cycle), but you seem to be pretty sure of yourself for someone who did not get in the first time.

 

[rocketbooster]

this is absolutely absurd. we are human beings..... not machines...... things that happen in our lives outside the hospital/university will undoubtedly affect our work. A guy in my dad's radiology group is slacking in his call right now but the group is giving him a break.... his 22 year old daughter just had a double mastectomy because she has breast cancer. so the group should "red flag" him because he's struggling at work right now? yea ok 🙄

....that's not the samething at all. in the application process, you are trying to sell yourself. you sell yourself by emphasizing your strengths. it is not a strength of yours that your grades fell during a family emergency. I fully sympathize with such a case, but it's not something you'd use to sell yourself.

the doctor you know already had the job when his daughter underwent the surgery. he wasn't trying to sell himself to get a job. he was already established. while I feel for the doctor, your example isn't relevant at all.

however, I do think it would be good to mention something like a family issue in the PS and explain how you grew, handled, learned, etc. from it.

 

[BlueElmo]

I hope it matters a lot. I feel my PS is one of my strong points.

 

[rocketbooster]

First, this is from the AMCAS section of the faq at U S Florida:

"What should my essay be about?
Each essay should be considered an opportunity to tell the schools you are applying to something about yourself. You should write in a style that is comfortable for you, despite the rumor that there is a special essay style we want to see. The essay expresses who you are and why you want to be a doctor. It is also your opportunity to explain something in your record or on the AMCAS application that may be questionable to us."

Second, no need to be snarky when people try to help by answering a question you posted. You asked about the import of the PS and someone answered with what they think can be effective. When you ask a question aimed at getting advice, it's bad form to have an attitude when someone attempts to answer it.

Third, look you did not get in last year, I would do my best to improve every improvable part of my application before reapplying. Even if you think one part is not that important, or that last year a particular part was fine, you should at least do some work to improve it.

Not trying to be a jerk, and I think it is quite an accomplishment to get into med school (meaning, I'm not slamming you for not getting in last cycle), but you seem to be pretty sure of yourself for someone who did not get in the first time.

haha, calm down. 🙂 I didn't make this thread to give me advice. I already have my own opinion on the topic. I posted the thread so different opinions could be debated. I already established my opinion in my first post.

I'm glad you posted that Florida thing, though. thanks!

in terms of being sure of myself about reapplying, you are right. I am sure of myself. I know why I did not get in this year. I've spoken with several adcoms so I know what to improve. My PS was fine. Whenever I asked them how my PS was, they just say "oh it's fine. that's not something that would keep you out." I did not get in bc of my MCAT. Every school told me the exact samething hehe. I should have that MCAT problem fixed now, so yes, I am very confident this time around.

 

[rocketbooster]

Show them you’re a unique snowflake, but not the kind that will melt easily…
Keep in mind that in open-file interviews they’ll probably draw from it for some questions, so you could make the end of the process easier or harder for yourself by writing an interesting but not overly embellished PS in the beginning.

ohh, that's a really good point. only include things in your PS that you know you could speak passionately about in an interview. you're right...they definitely bring up your PS in your interviews. 👍

 

[MilkmanAl]

Last year, I recall someone saying that roughly 80% of PS's don;t have any effect, 10% are positive, and 10% are negative. In other words, it's pretty unlikely that they'll affect your candidacy either way, but an amazing one can get you an interview, while a poor one can get you the boot. Either way, it's certainly worth putting your best effort into. Maybe you'll be part of that upper 10%.

 

[nick_carraway]

Last year, I recall someone saying that roughly 80% of PS's don;t have any effect, 10% are positive, and 10% are negative. In other words, it's pretty unlikely that they'll affect your candidacy either way, but an amazing one can get you an interview, while a poor one can get you the boot. Either way, it's certainly worth putting your best effort into. Maybe you'll be part of that upper 10%.

Milkman, I wanted to say that you have single handedly convinced me to apply to Arkansas.

 

[Col Kurtz]

haha, calm down. 🙂 I didn't make this thread to give me advice. I already have my own opinion on the topic. I posted the thread so different opinions could be debated. I already established my opinion in my first post.

I'm glad you posted that Florida thing, though. thanks!

in terms of being sure of myself about reapplying, you are right. I am sure of myself. I know why I did not get in this year. I've spoken with several adcoms so I know what to improve. My PS was fine. Whenever I asked them how my PS was, they just say "oh it's fine. that's not something that would keep you out." I did not get in bc of my MCAT. Every school told me the exact samething hehe. I should have that MCAT problem fixed now, so yes, I am very confident this time around.

Cool. I lurk a lot around here and noticed your name on other threads. i was surprised by the tone more than anything. I agree with you that selling yourself is the key part of application process. But I do think that people are sometimes afraid to admit when they made mistakes. I have a couple red flags in my file from years ago, so I have (and will continue to for the next two years) been thinking a lot about the PS an how to approach the negative things. My opinion is this: if it is something that may keep you from getting interviewed AND you can tie it to the theme of the PS, then it shouldn't be a problem putting it in there.

I NEVER had to work hard to get decent grades in high school and carried the same study habits to my first two years of college. I left for several years adn that made all the difference. my question is this, by acknowledging my initial immaturity, does it come across as excuse making?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Milkman, I wanted to say that you have single handedly convinced me to apply to Arkansas.

Very cool! 😀 👍

 

[AdemTD]

After doing all this last year, I realized I don't know how big of an impact the PS really has on your acceptance to med school. The adcoms know that these personal statements are all over-embellished. I really don't think the PS makes or breaks you. I think what makes or breaks you is the interview.

Your thoughts?

According to Robert Ruiz, UMich Director of Admissions, "90% of personal statements don't matter. 5% are so poorly written and they receive an automatic rejection, and 5% are so well written that those personal statements are held in high regard by the admissions committee." He also said that LOR are of much greater importance.

 

[rocketbooster]

Cool. I lurk a lot around here and noticed your name on other threads. i was surprised by the tone more than anything. I agree with you that selling yourself is the key part of application process. But I do think that people are sometimes afraid to admit when they made mistakes. I have a couple red flags in my file from years ago, so I have (and will continue to for the next two years) been thinking a lot about the PS an how to approach the negative things. My opinion is this: if it is something that may keep you from getting interviewed AND you can tie it to the theme of the PS, then it shouldn't be a problem putting it in there.

I NEVER had to work hard to get decent grades in high school and carried the same study habits to my first two years of college. I left for several years adn that made all the difference. my question is this, by acknowledging my initial immaturity, does it come across as excuse making?

no because bringing up something negative about yourself is good IF you show that you overcame it and explain what you learned, how you grew, etc. from it. you did all those things, so milk it for all its worth. 👍