How much do the personal statement and extracurricular activities count?

[August24]

Your application could be complete without extra curricular activities, or you could have two pages of them. Are they just conversation starters in interviews or do they actually count? Or do they only make a difference when it's between two identical applicants and one spot?

And the personal statement-we all had to write one, but how much of a difference does it really make? Thanks-

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[GellaBella]

I'm not sure if any of us really know. I think they def can make a difference, especially with schools that do not interview. They have to make their entire decision about what kind of person you are from the ps and your extra curricular activities. Personally I think the ps counts for more than the ecs but that's just my opinion and how I'd feel if I was on an admissions committee. Certainly a bad ps can put a damper on your application, I'm not sure how no extra curricular are viewed

 

[snapcall]

The short answer is (just like always): it depends.

Some schools assign a definite percentage value to EC's, others do not. If your EC's are on the low side and the rest of your app is great, an acceptance is still not out of reach from what I understand. However, a bad PS can really, REALLY hurt you if it reveals traits that are not desirable in the profession. The PS is supposed to be an opportunity to make yourself stand out in a positive way, and any PS that doesn't accomplish this is going to be a hindrance (although these can range from the mildly off-putting to the totally repulsive, so not all bad personal statements are necessarily created equal).

All of this is IMO, of course. Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[cowgirla]

Personally, I think PS is wayy more important than EC. I for one worked all through college, and the few interesting clubs my school offered always met at 7 or 8 pm on Tuesday or Wednesday nights...nights when I was working. So my EC's are lacking, I admit. I had a horse for two years as well, which was also incredibly time consuming.
I know I'm not the only one who worked all through college, and there are a lot of non-trads doing prereqs on a course-by-course basis or just trying to get as many done as they can with the best grades, so they aren't worrying about joining every club out there.

I think as long as you can show you did something besides sit at home and twiddle your thumbs every day, you should be okay? just my opinion.

 

[August24]

I feel that great leadership and extensive extracurriculars or lots of time working would offer explaination and strengthen an application where either there were low experience hours or a less than outstanding (but still ok) GPA, but not both. They can't give you the benifit of the doubt all the time.

As for the personal statement, it is still a mystery to me. A personal statement should hopefully provide a unifying thread tying together your application as well as show what a great communicator you are, but I don't know. I mean, it must be important if they made you have it (no one made you put anything for experience hours before you submit) but I feel little mention of it is made outside of VMCAS.

 

[bruinvetman]

i feel with EC's, its quality over quantity. You could be in a ton of checkers clubs but those won't raise eyebrows so much in comparison to a couple extraordinary animal or community service experiences.
And as others have mentioned, the PS is your opportunity to show schools that you can communicate intelligently and effectively and that you are truly dedicated to your future career.