Name-dropping on essay

[nervousfreshie]

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I was wondering about what you guys thought of name-dropping professors in your essays? I have 2 professors that I'm really interested in getting to know, and although they are not currently teaching, they are still listed as being active in the university. I wanted to mentioned them in my why penn essay, but I don't want to come across as pretentious. </p>

<p>thanks!</p>

[polarmonkey]

<p>I’ve only been doing it if it strengthens my essay. I like including specific programs and research centers on the ‘Why XYZ’ essays, so if a particular professor’s work stands out to me, then I’ll explain why their WORK is something I’d like to be involved in. I feel like that’s better than ‘I would like to go to XYZ because I read Dr. Smith’s book and he seems like a cool guy.’</p>