PS just helps you get the interview, or more?

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str8flexed

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I think my PS is actually pretty good, probably much better than my interviewing skills (which I am going to work on). But most in-staters get interviews anyway. Is this a waste of a good PS?

Or does the PS still play a semi-large role in the decision even after the interview?

I hate how being a SDN.net'er makes you wonder and worry about the smallest things.

Thanks-
Adam

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str8flexed said:
I think my PS is actually pretty good, probably much better than my interviewing skills (which I am going to work on). But most in-staters get interviews anyway. Is this a waste of a good PS?

Or does the PS still play a semi-large role in the decision even after the interview?

I hate how being a SDN.net'er makes you wonder and worry about the smallest things.

Thanks-
Adam

A number of places consider everyone who gets to the interview stage as equal and your chances when you get to that stage will depend on your interview performance and how well you sell yourself. So in many/most cases your PS will only serve as a few bullet points the interviewer might want to ask you about once you get to that stage. But assume everything, even the smallest things, can make or break your chances. Because schools are looking for reasons to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 
What is chaff?

Law2Doc said:
A number of places consider everyone who gets to the interview stage as equal and your chances when you get to that stage will depend on your interview performance and how well you sell yourself. So in many/most cases your PS will only serve as a few bullet points the interviewer might want to ask you about once you get to that stage. But assume everything, even the smallest things, can make or break your chances. Because schools are looking for reasons to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 
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BuckerPark said:
What is chaff?

From The Free Dictionary, "The dry bracts enclosing mature grains of wheat and some other cereal grasses, removed during threshing". It's the throw away stuff. You don't want your application to be throw away stuff. You want to be the wheat. Wheat is good. You can make bread out of it. And beer. And doctors. :)
 
Law2Doc said:
From The Free Dictionary, "The dry bracts enclosing mature grains of wheat and some other cereal grasses, removed during threshing". It's the throw away stuff. You don't want your application to be throw away stuff. You want to be the wheat. Wheat is good. You can make bread out of it. And beer. And doctors. :)

But who will help me bake the bread?
 
PS is helpful. I pulled this from Barron's book (VERY VERY HELPFUL) about successfull PS's and had a bunch of adcom interviews about the PS. Ill type out an excerpt

"I had a student who was considered a weak candidate because of poor grades and low test scores. She was African-American and although she had pursued all the right avenues (classes, MCAT, volunteer experiences) to prepare herself for medical school, she remain undistinguished as a candidate- until, that is, she wrote her essay. The essay revealed her tremendous and sincered drive. She was from a crime-riddled area of New York City and several of her siblings had been violently killed. She wrote about her experience and her desire to practice medicine in the city and improve the neighborhodd she was raised. It was compelling, believable, and truly inspiring"
 
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