While we're on the subject of "personal statements" - I had some friends who had a son who was applying to USMA for the class of 2015. He had all the credentials but there was one problem - he had a short school suspension on his record for cheating.
Of course, there is no hiding this. The application asks if you have ever been suspended. It will appear on his high school transcript/record. It will clearly come up in some way. My friends wanted to know if this was going to shoot down his chances.
My advise was to not try and sweep it under the rug or hope that nobody notices, rather, embrace it head-on! Address it in his personal statement! Talk about it as one of his life learning experiences and how it has changed him. Self-induced adversity is still adversity that needs to be overcome. If you've overcome it and have learned from it - talk about it!
Some of you candidates may have similar blemishes on your record. Maybe you've had a brush with the law. There is no hiding this. In fact, any attempt to hide it may prove very detrimental. Address it head-on. Try to take a lemon and make lemonade!
Oh, by the way, my friends' son is now a member of the class of 2015 at West Point.