Should I avoid using real names in the UC personal statement/common app essays? I could replace their real name with something else and state that I changed their names for privacy if that’s the case.
My d used the full name of the person who had a significant influence on her in her essay and I wondered the same thing. But I kept quiet because her essay was a total tribute to him and something I believe his family would be proud to read if it ever came to light. In these days of putting your whole life up on Facebook I don’t think a college application essay is too much of an evasion of privacy. I may be wrong of course. If you are uncomfortable, maybe just use their first name, or their relationship to you (my cousin, my neighbor, etc.), or a nickname if it’s that kind of relationship.
I used names. I got in my top choice.
I think it’s fine, as long as you’re writing about a positive influence. If you’re using a full name to talk about someone who has had a negative influence on you, it looks like an incriminating and bitter essay.