refurb wrote:
To me, it's kinda like saying "I'm not just a consultant, I work for McKinsey." Yes, working for McKinsey is impressive, however bringing it up when no one asked just sounds pretentious.
First off, it's hard to sound pretentious in an admissions essay. The point of the admissions essay is to showcase your accomplishments as much as possible. There is no tact necessary - this isn't a cocktail party.
I put names in every single goals essay that I've written so far. They lend credibility to the fact that you've been doing your research and that you're a real person. The adcom reads hundreds of essays that basically say the same stuff, it certainly helps to have this differentiator in there, as well as any other differentiators that you may be able to sneak in to make your goals essay stand out.
I guess it also really depends on the context of your goals. If you're currently working for Google and plan to stay in the technology industry, and you're applying to Berkeley and Stanford, I don't think it really matters if you mention names or not - your path is fairly straight forward and will not raise any eyebrows.
Where this tactic comes in handy is if you're a career switcher. If you really want to switch from engineering to investment banking, it will lend a lot of credibility to your goals essay if you can mention that you've spoken to someone at your target school who made the same switch and learned about their experiences. It will show that you went the extra mile, and this is really the least you need to showcase if you're making a drastic career switch in this kind of economy.
Lastly, this tactic really only works if it makes sense and fits in with the rest of your essay. If you just mention at the end of the essay that you met XYZ alum at the info session in your city, who is in a completely different field and has nothing in common with you, it will come off as trying too hard. If you speak to and "name drop" students that are leaders in clubs you are interested in joining, students and alums who are working at the companies, fields, and industries you are interested in targeting, or faculty/professors that teach courses that interest you or run programs/departments that interest you, it will definitely be an added bonus to your application.
Alright, enough from me. I'm not even an admitted student. I should shut up