Common App Essay in Third Person

College Essays
1

<p>I want to write my common app essay in third person, and then switch onto first. I just want to get a second, third, etc. opinion on this. (This is for the essay about failure)</p>

<p>How I want to start:
Once upon a time there was a girl who was so filled with emotion she had to find a medium to pour it all into. One day that girl found two; poetry and photography. She had grown comfortable over the following years and during her junior year in high school chanced upon a contest. </p>

<p>The rest of that first paragraph continues in that style to explain the situation and circumstance. Basically the girl decides to participate in a contest.</p>

<p>For the second paragraph, I want to switch to first person. So it would be something like:</p>

<p>That girl, I, had.....</p>

<p>This way I could answer all the other questions with my thoughts and whatnot.</p>

<p>Anyway, is switching POV alright? I'm going to use strictly third in the beginning and strictly first for the rest of it. I won't be switching back and forth or anything like that.
Is using third person for any of this ok?</p>

2

<p>sounds impersonal. The prompt isn’t about your wiring abilities. It’s about explaining yourself and your accomplishments, trials, tribulations, etc.</p>

3

<p>i would stick to first</p>

4

<p>I’m planning on explaining all that in first. I just want to set the scene in third person. So like:</p>

<p>The girl had decided to participate in the contest.</p>

<p>Then from there I start going on in first person. So basically, After that girl, I, had decided to participate, blah blah blah and blah happened. When I submitted the final book, I was so proud of myself. Blah blah blah. Sadly, I hadn’t won. I was happy for the winners, but blah blah blah. This year, I’ve decided to participate again. Blah Blah Blah.</p>

<p>Obviously without the blahs, and with more details but I WILL be elaborating upon my character, experience, etc. in my own voice. I just wanted to start off by setting the scene in third person, so the situation is better explained.</p>

5

<p>I don’t see why you need third person to set the scene/ You could easily use first (I decided to participate etc)</p>

6

<p>I find it easier to set the scene in third person. </p>

<p>It’s not really a matter of need. I just want to know if, if I do it appropriately of course, it’s ok to do. </p>

<p>And again, only for setting the scene.</p>

7

<p>i don’t know if it’s ok without seeing your writing/ do it if you want and make sure to have someone proofread it.</p>

8

<p>It seems weak and unfocused. It sounds like you just don’t have a good personal statement and are trying to drag it out with elaborate wiring. With the size restriction in place every word needs to count. Wasting space with clutter like “Once upon a time” is no good.</p>

9

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<p>What would be the point of having just one sentence in third person? I think it makes everything unnecessarily confusing.</p>

10

<p>Stick to first. A lot of people try the third person thing.</p>

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</p>

<p>Ugh.</p>

11

<p>Thank you all for taking the time to respond. @Careful, I wasn’t planning on having that cheesy a reveal. </p>

<p>Anywho, I will take all of what you guys said into consideration. Again, thank you for responding.</p>

12

<p>I think it is a bad idea. From your example, it sounds artificial and gimmicky. It has an impersonal distancing effect. It seems like you are trying to avoid the hard work of being authentic.</p>