current MFA student here + someone who has read applications before—admission committees read SOPs for red flags & one of the most common ones is a disdain for other writers of contemporary fiction. it’s actually quite easy to tell when someone is going to be annoying/a bummer in a workshop where they are expected to engage in other writers’ work with thought, care, and generosity. no matter how “good” someone’s sample is (although, the more problematic the SOP, the worse the writing tends to be….), they are not making their way into a program if the committee can sense that kind of energy. obviously, some people can slip through the cracks; not all terrors reveal themselves in the SOP, but this would not be my main concern at all if i were in your position. honestly, i think the greater problem afflicting MFA programs isn’t the pretentious wannabe-iconoclasts but rather people who grew up on AO3 and YA and haven’t really progressed their reading habits beyond that.
