Generally, members of admissions committees don t know the alumni letter-writer unless they were classmates or just recently graduated. The personal statement is incredibly important because it s the first place you have a chance to look like a human being to the admissions committee. Don t write irrelevant short stories that you would submit for a creative writing class. Write about yourself and why you want to study medicine, the experiences on which your decision is based, and why you think you d be good if entrusted with the privilege of taking care of people. At UM applicants are interviewed by members of the admissions committee.
Applicants get only one interview by one person and the interview lasts approximately an hour.
The format is relaxed and is a forum for information exchange. Basically, they re trying to assess all of those things that are almost impossible to put down on paper interpersonal skill level, maturity, depth of motivation, soundness of decision, experiences, and the like. In general, they re trying to find out what kind of person you are and how motivated you are to study medicine. Some sources will tell you that you can t prepare and that you should just be yourself. There are some common sense things you can do, however, to make a better presentation.