I heard that admissions officers and faculty don’t read personal statements/statements of purpose and/or essays. Is that true?
Generally speaking, top schools are pretty good at reading every application that comes in the door; however, that says nothing about the attention they give to each personal statement. Of course, it all depends on who is doing the reading. In graduate school admissions, faculty in the department are generally involved in evaluating the applications. This tends to reduce the standardization of processes. So different faculty members may come at an application from different angles. Some will be diving into your personal statement or essays with enthusiasm. Others will await an interview to really get a feel for your case. Someone will most likely give your essay or essays a good read.
