My commonapp essay has a non-linear structure, and to emphasise that it was non-linear, I used italized paragraphs. When the admissions officer reads the essay, will they see the paragraphs italized?
Yes, but probably not if you copy over from Word or Google docs. In that case, you’d need to reformat within the CA.
Now whether you should italicize is a different question.
@skieurope it is really hard to catch the flow otherwise. I go back and forth between a very important moment in my life, and without italic paragraphs what I am doing might not be so apparent.
If you’re applying to Princeton, reconsider the wisdom of fancy formatting. Try to understand what they look for and what they hope to see in your essay. Don’t mess with them. What matters is content. Not visual flourishes.
On top of that, though a college is meant to see what the CA sends, there can be hiccups in the download to the reading copy.
@lookingforward I actually wrote about my story of fighting against Tourettes and how math helped me on the way, and I need the back and forth movements between the storyline and my conversations with my psychiatrist. Do you really think it is a problem that I include flashbacks/flashforwards?
You need to make your own best decision. But you’re talking about stylistic formatting and asking readers to endure the sequence jumps. The personal statement is meant to reveal attributes the college wants in the class. It often works easiest in a simple narrative. This is not like hs writing. What do you think adcoms will see in you in this essay, that they want? And could the same points be made without this format? Youre talking about tippy tops. Your choice.
The essay gives you a very short on-ramp for the reader to figure out what the scheme is. Unless it is really carefully constructed it is more likely to be confusing.
Picture the AO reader, with a stack 50-80 applications to be read that day. Picks up the folder, and flips through: headline stats, school profile + transcript, GC LOR, teacher LOR, ECs, then a page and half long essay. All of that to be read and assessed in an average of 15 minutes. Your reader hits your essay and has to figure out, by context that the italic bits are flashbacks and flashforwards (and which is which).
Imo, making a hard job harder is a risky strategy: while it may make a great short story, it could equally put off an AO who is just annoyed by having to figure it out (or who never gets it and is just perplexed by it & gives up). Remember that, from your POV the purpose of the essay is to sell you; from the AO POV it is to figure out which kids ‘fit’ their school best.
I admire the ambition, but suggest - at the least- having somebody who either does not know the story read it from an email (ie, on a screen, as the AO will). Don’t give them any background info - you want to get a sense of how easy it is for somebody coming to it cold to get it.
@collegemom3717 thank you so much! I asked a few people to read it and they all liked it. But can someone here have a look at it and perhaps give some comment? I would really appreciate such a help!