Should I Mention Another College In My Essay?Answered
Hello, I am applying to colleges on the CommonApp and I recently started my essay. My essay includes talking about how another college sent me an email about joining a stock market challenge hosted by them. My essay is revolved around this whole challenge. I was wondering if including the name or even referencing them will hurt my chances of getting into other schools if I submit this essay. I am not planning on applying to the school that sent me the email. Should I list them in my essay as X University or just say "a college?" I am worried this might hurt my chances of getting in.
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3 answers
Hi @DarkShadow!
I don't think there's any issue with mentioning the college name. As an analogy, if you had an internship at UIUC, you'll put "Internship at UIUC" on your application. Does that mean that any other university looking at your application will view it as a "bad" thing? Absolutely not. On the same note, getting an internship at UIUC doesn't necessarily make you a good fit for UIUC (I read that you're not applying to the university that sent you the email, but this is just for your info). It's not your fault that UIUC gave you the opportunity whereas the universities you're applying to didn't. Instead, it's a good thing that you took the opportunity and gave your best.
The point of an essay is to make things specific, not general.
Hope this helps!
there is no issue as long as you are not displaying interest in the other school! You can mention doin programs like I mentioned summer programs at NYU to Columbia so dont worry :D just as long as you dont praise the rival school/ other school.
I recommend writing out the name of the college. It will not hurt you in any way, since it will simply add context to your story about the challenge. The colleges you are applying to are likely familiar with this challenge, so stating the college name will give them a more complete idea of how impressive your experience was. Hope this helps!
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