<p>I didn’t try to avoid contractions in my personal statement last year. Personally, I think it’ll be OK to use as many contractions as you want in yours; the admissions officers almost certainly care more about the content of your personal statement and the overall structure of the message you want to convey in it than some silly conventions of prose.</p>
<p>And there’s no need to apologize about asking these questions—better safe than sorry, right?</p>