A student can change their personal statement after an application is submitted if they want to send different essays to different schools. It is a lot of work to write multiple personal statements but it can be done.
Students can also change their honors and extracurricular activities, however, the first university will only receive what was submitted on the date of submission.
I am only applying to a single school using the Common app, so would it be fine to mention it by name in my personal essay?
You can but remember it’s a personal essay, so it should show something about you - and some of the zaniest seem to be some of the most fun. Writing about how waiting for Papa Johns Pizza delivery exhilirates or I read one about the yellow fuzz on a tennis ball and how it relates to ones personality.
Schools that want you to target something about them will have supplementals.
Good luck.
Colleges often have “why us” supplemental essays which is where it is more appropriate to mention the school by name.
Your personal statement should be more about who you are as a person and less about why you want to attend a particular college.
I agree with @tsbna44 . My original question in the first post was targeted towards specific schools within a university, particularly those such nursing, engineering, or pharmacology, as examples.
If you’re only applying to one school and want to mention that school, and there is no supplemental essay to discuss Why XYZ Uni?, I think it’s best if you can do it naturally. Avoid saying something cliched like “XYZ university is the place for me!” Maybe instead, incorporate something about the university that ties in with your personality.