Dropping names in personal statement

[T1R3KO]

I haven't been able to find much on this.

My volunteering position has completely changed the way I view medicine, which is pretty legit considering my parents are both physicians and I've been very involved for most of my lifetime. I'm going to write about it.

However, this position has led me to be weirdly involved and in contact with a lot of big names in the hospital (CMO, VP, etc..). Is it tasteless for me to mention these people in my personal statement? Especially if I am applying to this school as a first choice?

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[whoknows2012]

yes stay away from name dropping unless its completely necessary (although I can't think of a situation if would be...)

 

[7starmantis]

yes stay away from name dropping unless its completely necessary (although I can't think of a situation if would be...)

This.

 

[45408]

People won't recognize the names you're dropping, and it'll backfire on you. Leave them out.

 

[tlaloc87]

People won't recognize the names you're dropping, and it'll backfire on you. Leave them out.

Does this also apply if you are not using them to name drop but to add details to your personal statement (i.e. they aren't just mentioned once but serve a purpose in explaining 'Why medicine')?

 

[ThaliaNox]

Keep in mind that there are a lot of personalities in the world, and the more "famous" the name you drop, the more likely someone will read it and think "I hate Dr. "Famous." " Better to not name drop. It makes you look like a toady anyway. 'Cides, half the people who read it won't understand the reference anyway, and it'll look stupid.

 

[LizzyM]

Three things:

The name could be widely recognized at the school affiliated with that hospital. It might help if there is a halo effect (people think highly of you because they think highly of the person you worked with). It could hurt if people know these folks and think little of them (as can sometimes be the case between clinicians and hospital administrators and even among clinicians).

The names could mean nothing to people at other schools and just seem like a failed attempt to impress or brag.

In instances where the name is very well known (a physician like Paul Farmer, Sanjay Gupta or non-physician such as President Clinton or Senator Boxer ) it can be considered somewhat obnoxious. Of course, if you were employed by the person and they wrote a LOR for you, that is fine although the thoughts in item 1 apply (halo or not).

 

[cpants]

If it's a big name in the field, and you truly worked closely with the person, I would ask for a letter rather than name drop.

 

[7starmantis]

Does this also apply if you are not using them to name drop but to add details to your personal statement (i.e. they aren't just mentioned once but serve a purpose in explaining 'Why medicine')?

Not at all, I used the name of a personal family friend in one of my statements to talk about a particularly meaningful event in my choice to follow medicine. I only used a first name and no one would have known the person anyway.

I dont think anyone is saying not to use names in your PS but not to "drop names". Although, I didn't get accepted with that PS and the second cycle I approached the PS very differently. Got several acceptances.

Edit: I did have a politician write a LOR the second (successful) time but did not mention a thing about it in my PS. Plus he sent it straight to the Dean of one of the schools, so it didn't really affect the other schools anyway. Politicians 🙄

 

[Practitioner]

However, this position has led me to be weirdly involved and in contact with a lot of big names in the hospital (CMO, VP, etc..). Is it tasteless for me to mention these people in my personal statement? Especially if I am applying to this school as a first choice?

I'd avoid it and if you felt mentioning them might help for the affiliated school, I would just ask for letters of recommendation from them. It would weigh more if one of them wrote you a letter in strong support of your application, in my opinion, than if you just mentioned working with them as having influenced your decision.

(I mentioned "senior VP or this or that" gave me wider perspective on whatever in my PS, and then asked those doctors to write letters recommending me. Only one obliged in time for submitting my application. But I asked late too.)

 

[Prism328]

I don't think it'll hurt you if you namedrop in your PS people who wrote LOR for you because it gives your essay context. For example look at this sentence "I asked Dr. XXX what the diagnosis was" vs "I asked a doctor what the diagnosis was"

 

[phatlineman]

what if its the name of someone not in medicine? like, I was thinking about naming a certain famous athlete in my essay...I could do without it but it sounds cooler with his name in there

 

[Prism328]

IMO you're writing a medical school essay, not a sin city comic. If you have to write about people in your essay, like about a famous athlete, isn't it better call him by his name rather than "The Athlete" or "The Doctor". Just don't use a patient's full name. Make up a name. Its better than referring the patient in the entire essay as "The patient".

 

[FlowRate]

Didn't everyone talk about their volunteer work with Dr. P. Adams?

 

[Cramster]

Three things:

The name could be widely recognized at the school affiliated with that hospital. It might help if there is a halo effect (people think highly of you because they think highly of the person you worked with). It could hurt if people know these folks and think little of them (as can sometimes be the case between clinicians and hospital administrators and even among clinicians).

I "dropped names" in my PS but only because I knew the names would be recognized at a certain school in Cali and also the person wrote one of my LOR's so I didn't see the harm.

Are you using people you were actually involved with for some activity or just naming who your parents are? How were you involved with these people? Superficially?

 

[T1R3KO]

Are you using people you were actually involved with for some activity or just naming who your parents are? How were you involved with these people? Superficially?

I collaborated with the CMO and VP of the hospital in discussions on quality improvement in pre-surgical holding areas. The hospital in question also happens to be my top-choice medical school.

Regardless, I chose not to include the names.