Third Person vs. Second Person Forum

[femmefatale]

When writing your essays is it a best-practice to refer to the school in Third Person or Second Person?

I am particularly thinking about Why X Essays.

Should I be saying that I am drawn to X School because of its strengths in a,b,c...
or, should I be saying that I am drawn to X School because of your strengths in a,b,c...

[theonyxhotel143]

Think about your reader. Someone from admissions--if you say "your" they are going to infer you are talking to them directly. If you are referring to the school, then use third person.

[femmefatale]

Think about your reader. Someone from admissions--if you say "your" they are going to infer you are talking to them directly. If you are referring to the school, then use third person.

I'm writing about the school itself and talking about the things that attract me to it BUT the thing that throws me off is that I am also describing the school to the person who is reading it (The admissions counselor).

I feel like if I use the third person, it's more formal. If I use the second person it's more personal.

Additionally, if I DO use the second person:
Would it be correct to refer to the law school as "their school" because they work there or is it incorrect because they did not necessarily attend that school. (does that matter?)

[nothingtosee]

Second person is obnoxious. "Princeton offers" sounds much much better than "you offer." 1st person is fine, because it's a personal statement, but stay away from you.