Personal Statement style question

[agrimond]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello,

I'm Welsh. I wonder what the admissions committees think of essays written in British English style. (The differences are slight; they revolve around hyphenation, commas, and spelling variations around -ise, -our, -ce, etc.)

Would it be considered arrogant? Nationalistic? Pique their interest? Off-putting due to American nationalism?

It's pretty trivial a change to make; I know the differences between the styles in and out. In emails and such I typically use BrE just so people know I'm from a different culture.

Thanks,
Adrian

 

[Depakote]

If you're actually British (edit: or Welsh in this case) and that's how you type the rest of the time, I assume it would fly.

 

[pianola]

Would it be considered arrogant? Nationalistic? Pique their interest? Off-putting due to American nationalism?

^Probably any and/or all of the above, depending on who reads it...

Interesting question, though.

Good luck which ever way you choose.

 

[agrimond]

Welsh is British, although we prefer to call ourselves Welsh. Times change.

I guess for safety I'll just go with AmE.

 

[Loon]

Odds are that they wouldn't notice. I think it's probably better to be consistent. If you decide to use a style that is not your native style, make sure your editing is very thorough.

 

[Nevadanteater]

I got more than enough poop for my American English while living over there.

Write to your audience.

---------------

How long have you lived in the US?

 

[Nobuo]

write it in british, it will show your diversity 😉

 

[Maxwell Edison]

No one is going to care:
1) Everyone has a different writing style
2) There are plenty of Brits writing material in the U.S., chances are this will go under the radar for the sharp-eyed reader.
3) Doctors aren't exactly literati. Chances are most won't notice.

You will, however, draw off more than a pittance of ire if you riff on about perceived "American nationalism." Most institutions of higher learning tend to weed out jingoists, and if there's anything that moderates hate, it's being labeled as extremists.

 

[agrimond]

I've lived in the US 6 years.

I didn't mean to give offence with my question about nationalism. Nationalism is a privately held view by a great deal of people, some quite accomplished in their fields; just like racism. This is just a fact of life right now. I just don't want to accidentally be on the receiving end of it by someone in an admissions committee, in the highly subjective process of admission decisions.

Nor would I discuss politics in my personal statement or interview, by the way.

BTW, extremists hate moderates too. I consider myself a reasonable man of reasonable and considered positions, but not a moderate or centrist. I don't like centrists because I find that intellectual compromises often don't fit reality very well. But this is a really tangential aside, so never mind.

Anyway thanks all for answering the question.

 

[stixx]

I'm Canadian, and my sister (who attended college in the USA) made me obsessively go through all my essays and change everything to "American." 😳

I don't think it matters, really, but I would rather not draw attention to my nationality if possible.

 

[daniellema13]

I would write in the style that you're most comfortable with. Or, since you're probably pretty comfortable with both (at least this is what i inferred from your posts) then whatever fits the actual essay best? I honestly don't think it matters...like you said, the differences are slight.