Personal Statement in Third Person Forum

[tenlaw]

Hi everybody,

I am in the midst of writing my personal statement, planning on sending in my applications near the end of October. I am telling the story of a client that I helped to get approved for Medicaid benefits. Long story short: I think all the right info is there, but I just do not like the way the essay is turning out. I have edited many times and still is falling short of what I want.

Which leads to my question: I have written a rough draft of the essay from the perspective of my client. I was wondering if anyone has had any luck writing a personal statement that was not in first person. Anyone think this is a particularly good/bad idea? Any input would be great. Thanks!

[Wolverine1614]

I think it's a bad idea. A personal statement is supposed to tell the admissions people about yourself and it's supposed to sell yourself. Talk about how you grew from this experience, what you learned, and what traits you gained from this experience. It's going to be very difficult to learn about you if we're inside another person's head. I can't tell your thoughts from another perspective. I want your angle, not your client's.

Also, simply, check out this link: http://www.top-law-schools.com/statement.html
A little under halfway down the page, this website says to use first person.

[xylocarp]

I'm not saying this is your intention, but I think using third person from the perspective of your client might come off as gimmicky.

[Hipster but Athletic]

Historical fiction might fuck you over.

[fringles]

You have to write your PS in 1st person. You really must.

Actually, better said: writing in 1st person will invariably make your PS better, no matter how well you've written the essay in 3rd person or how good the 3rd person essay already is.

Actually, better said: you have to really try to make a first person PS worse than a third person PS

Actually, better said: it's actually impossible for your best-effort 1st person PS worse than your best-effort 3rd person PS

[rinkrat19]

This seems incredibly risky. My usual stance is that somewhere out there, there's a writer skilled enough to make ANY risk work, but the unless you're the time-traveling love child of Virginia Woolf and William Shakespeare, I can't imagine a way in which it wouldn't come off as really weird and gimmicky.

[Hipster but Athletic]

Historical fiction might fuck you over.

Again, third person means fiction. This is not allowed.

[tenlaw]

Thanks for the input everyone. These were my thoughts exactly, but I wanted to see if anyone had any success doing a third person narrative.

[smaug_]

A pS in the third person will sound like an obituary.