How "important" are personal statements/essays?

[la flame]

I was browsing an old thread and the poster who seemed like an Adcom mentioned how 1% of PS's are extraordinary, 93% are average and 6% are horrible so it's our main job to make sure we are apart of the 93% of average essays. Do you guys think a great PS is a huge factor that could potentially persuade an Adcom to accept a lower-stat student over another one? (assuming everything else is equal) ? I understand it's futile to write your PS in 2 hours and submit it. But I've never been a great writer and the thought of spending over a month on it with drafts is haunting me.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Davidfromcali]

The PS will not get you into med school but it can definitely keep out.

I think the goal is to write a solid PS to where a screener can read it and clearly understand your motivation for why you want to pursue medicine. If you accomplish that, then you’ve written a great PS.

I think it is pretty rare for a PS alone to warrant a II or acceptance. It’s about being the whole package. But I’ve never sat on a admissions committee so take my comment with a grain of salt.

 

[Sky138]

If you have a well written personal statement that meshes with your activities and letters, I’m sure it can only help if your lacking in any area. That and a well written personal statement can make your interview go a lot smoother. Think about it, if your personal statement stands out and is personal enough it’s readers can truly feel as if they know you, then it should be smooth sailing right? Or that’s how it was for me anyways...

 

[Damson]

I think according to @gonnif , a PS should convey a big picture that gels the rest of your application together
Make it interesting. Include a narrative