Personal Statement: How valued is it, really?

[premd]

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I saw the other thread about LORs, and I just wanted to ask the same question about the personal statement. Since it sounds like LORs are not very important (according to LizzyM), is the personal statement worthless then? Should I even bother spending time perfecting my essay?

 

[SilkyDelicious]

Depends on how good the rest of your application is. I was essentially told by my interviewer at Penn that it was one of the best she ever read, and based on my numbers and Penn, UCLA, and Columbia's numbers I'd say my personal statement is a big reason I had interviews at these schools in the 1st place.

The dean of the med school at my undergrad used the 10/80/10 rule. 10% of the people it really helped, 80% it didn't really matter one way or the other it just fit under the generic category, and 10% it actually hurt.

 

[186321]

My PS statement was never mentioned once during an interview or follow-up conversation. That could be a bad thing though...

 

[flaahless]

For schools that have open interviews, my personal statement was always the main topic of the conversation.

 

[Bond8204]

10/80/10 sounds about right. Either way, it's not like you should blow it off no matter what, so this thread is kind of pointless.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Well, I've only had 1 interview and it was closed, so my PS didn't come up. The admissions departments I contacted all mentioned that my PS was excellent, though, so it's got to count for something.

 

[3 little birds]

It matters a whole lot. It is your chance to introduce yourself, and to convince adcoms that your application is worth considering. Some schools weigh it more heavily than others, but think about t this way: there are lots of applicants with excellent grades, test scores and extracurriculars. Your own personal story is what makes you unique.

 

[Pedsbro]

I saw the other thread about LORs, and I just wanted to ask the same question about the personal statement. Since it sounds like LORs are not very important (according to LizzyM), is the personal statement worthless then? Should I even bother spending time perfecting my essay?

That is a huge misrepresentation of that thread...that is not what she said. Bottomline is, if you don't put effort into either one, they will hurt you. NOTHING is worthless in the med school apps...c'mon

 

[ChubbyChaser]

That is a huge misrepresentation of that thread...that is not what she said. Bottomline is, if you don't put effort into either one, they will hurt you. NOTHING is worthless in the med school apps...c'mon

I beg to differ...Premed club is worthless😉

 

[Pedsbro]

I beg to differ...Premed club is worthless😉

Oh of course...i meant of the required portions of a complete application (LOR, PS, etc). I would've joined the pre-law club over the premed club at my school...

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Oh of course...i meant of the required portions of a complete application (LOR, PS, etc). I would've joined the pre-law club over the premed club at my school...

lol

 

[TheRealMD]

Depends on how good the rest of your application is. I was essentially told by my interviewer at Penn that it was one of the best she ever read, and based on my numbers and Penn, UCLA, and Columbia's numbers I'd say my personal statement is a big reason I had interviews at these schools in the 1st place.

The dean of the med school at my undergrad used the 10/80/10 rule. 10% of the people it really helped, 80% it didn't really matter one way or the other it just fit under the generic category, and 10% it actually hurt.

The 10/80/10 rule applies to the personal statement itself for getting an interview. However, it matters a LOT more than that because it sets the tone for your interview. Unless an interviewer has absolutely no access to your file, your PS is one of the few things they give everyone to read.

 

[flip26]

The 10/80/10 rule applies to the personal statement itself for getting an interview. However, it matters a LOT more than that because it sets the tone for your interview. Unless an interviewer has absolutely no access to your file, your PS is one of the few things they give everyone to read.

The only thing I would quibble about is the distribution in the 10/80/10 rule.

My hunch it is more like 15/50/35.

I bet a third of the PS's that adcoms see are useless if not downright hurtful to applicants.

Again, my hunch is that the PS is very important in the whole scheme of things...

 

[Jolie South]

if you can spare the effort (and for your future career i hope that you could), it's really in your best interest to make sure EVERY part of your application is the best it can be.

EC descriptions, PS, secondaries, LORs. . . everything

most of us on here can only speculate as to the importance of the various app components, and i'm sure that different schools value parts differently. thus, it'd be dumb to shoot for "mediocre" on your PS.

IMO, the PS is the only part of the app that really gets at who you are and can set you apart from other applicants.

 

[redlight]

I saw the other thread about LORs, and I just wanted to ask the same question about the personal statement. Since it sounds like LORs are not very important (according to LizzyM), is the personal statement worthless then? Should I even bother spending time perfecting my essay?

i hear some schools have merit aid based on essays...

and yes, it's you're way of showing the adcom that you are more than numbers and the perfect way to tie your extracurrics and life story together to make a case for why you should be granted the honor of a med school seat

 

[AKu2984]

I'd spend a decent amount of time on it...and I definitely wouldn't blow it off. As other people have said, it is institution dependent; some schools put more weight on it than others. But, why screw it up when it could potentially hurt your chances? No one knows EXACTLY what adcoms look for...so do your best at everything that goes into the application process. That way, you'll have no regrets about the amount of effort you put in. That's just my $0.02...