Writing PS in third person, a good way to sound unique?

[a student]

Hi all, just wondering, is it a good idea to write the PS in third person?

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[jblil]

IMO it'd be silly, esp. if your background does not make your application stand out from the rest of the folks. If I were in the Adcom and saw such an essay (so-so background but gimmicky presentation), I'd be really tempted to discard it.

 

[Prepharm0425]

Third person, really? It will seem like someone else wrote your PS. As the above poster has said it would seem too gimmicky and I don't think Adcom's would find it flattering to say the least.

 

[MSUPharmacy2012]

IMO it sounds pretty dumb. This is supposed to be you, talking about you. Not "you" talking about you. Make sense?

 

[smercer]

This is a professional degree....keyword being professional.

Trying gimmicky things works well when you are trying to get a spot in a Marketing job or such. There they want innovative and fresh ideas.

 

[Nymphicus]

To me, it would just sound like a very long description.

"He did this and this, and then he did this. He felt this, but then this happened so he did that, but to his surprise, he had to redevelop an understanding of the interactions between himself and etc...."

Sounds terrible, to me, at least.

 

[Rx MPLS]

Hi all, just wondering, is it a good idea to write the PS in third person?

Please don't do this. You don't want to be "that guy".

 

[usechopstix]

I personally would never do this but I'm also not one to shoot down ideas, you never know what could happen.

If you have a really amazing story to tell and you believe telling it in third person will make it that much more effective, sure, why not. Otherwise, I'd stick with the safe route.

 

[confettiflyer]

this sounds stupid...i'd laugh reading it

 

[AlPacino]

I wouldnt recommend this.

 

[297point1]

No!
This is a personal statement, not a press release.

 

[Elisaveth]

Do it only if you're certain that nobody on that admissions committee has seen the "Jimmy" episode of "Seinfeld."

 

[beancounter123]

Have you ever read a story in first-person? Have you ever read a story in third-person? Which one sounded more relatable?

 

[Pojman]

I actually wrote my PS in the 4th person.. I have to go through three different narrative layers before it gets to me.

 

[RxRunner]

I'm a pharmacist who teaches at a community college, but my undergraduate coursework was as an English major. What I hear you saying is that you want your personal statement to stand out and that you wanted to know if person would be a good way of doing it.

First, I'll answer that question: as someone who was on the admissions committee, using third person in the entire work would come across as a person who doesn't have command of the appropriate use of the English language and when to use first person (correct), second person (awkward), third person (wrong), but I'll show you below how you can use it, briefly.

What makes you stand out is writing in the first person about the stories you have from other people. Most essays are about students talking about why they should get in and they all really look the same ... I am good at this, you should accept me because I am so good at this too...what is especially exciting to a bleary-eyed admissions representative is a strong narrative with strong characters, a plot and resolution in an unusual setting. Your first sentence is more important than all of the others put together. Look at the difference between these:

Weak:
My first experience with a pharmacy was at the local drugstore.
I always wanted to be a pharmacist.
I can't wait to help people as a pharmacist.

Strong:
The pharmacist spoke Spanish. The travelers English. I was able to use my knowledge of Spanish and English to help the travelers communicate the symptoms to the pharmacist and the recommendations from the pharmacist to the grandparents. Being able to tell a sick, weak and exhausted six-year old girl that she would be better soon...and so forth.