Does a Statement of Purpose really matter for Graduate Admissions in 2021?
The Statement of Purpose possibly carries weight toward admission to a graduate program.
Meeting the minimum requirements for acceptance may get you past an initial screening, but many departments have more applicants than they have space in their program. (I hesitate to say &quot;most&quot; or cite percentages since that could change from year to year, but you can often find this information on a program's website.) In these and other programs, the whole application packet - including the Statement of Purpose - may be considered by individual reviewers and/or a committee of reviewers before initial offers of admission are decided. Given two similarly-qualified candidates, it is conceivable that they would admit the one with a more compelling Statement of Purpose.
It's not easy from the outside to guess at an institution's internal processes, the number of applicants that year, or what they'll weight more heavily in your packet. While you may know anecdotally of people who are admitted with terrible Statements of Purpose, you don't know others who were rejected. You also don't know whether this year will be different. Given that, while you could gamble on a subpar Statement of Purpose and meeting the minimum requirements, prudence suggests putting some effort in so that you might stand out compared to your peers.