The personal essay is supposed to allow the admissions committee to get to know you better, so even if fiction is a major part of your life, I would still say no. Fiction lets the committee learn about your characters' personalities --not your own. All that would say about you is that you are a writer. --Even if your intended major is something like English Literature or Creative Writing, I would still stay far, far away from fiction. The admissions committee likes creativity, but you never know who is going to be reading your essay, and it's better to be safe. Like I said, though, most admission committees really value originality and creativity. It adds a little spice to the monotony of contrived essays, and it can really make you stand out as an applicant. If you think you can pull it off, try integrating creative elements. I really like extended metaphors to add a creative touch to a personal narrative. It is a safe way to express the amount of thought you put into your application and can add a lot of depth to a 500-1000 word essay. Another idea is to write from a different perspective. I read about a kid who got into UPenn; his personal statement was from the perspective of his favourite pair of shoes that he wore to the interview. Good luck!
Yah, it sort of sounds good in theory. It would show how creative you are, but they want to learn about you, and not read a piece of fiction you write. Good Luck. I hated writing about myself. Good Luck.
Thanks for the feedback! I totally see the issue, so I'll probably fall back to Plan B. I just really wanted to write about this one thing that happened to me, but I know admissions wouldn't believe it, so I was going to tell them that the piece is fictional when really it's not. Oh well. I won't risk it.
I asked my english teacher this question, and the best answer she came up with was that colleges want to read about an experience which defines you as a person. Now, if you were able to create a fictional situation in which you can explain who you are (like showing your maturity by working with underpriveleged kids), it could work. The downside is that a lot of people do this, make up things to make themselves sound good. So the admissions committees will be on the lookout for unrealistic scenarios, but if you can make it sound realistic and think it would be a better visualization (for lack of a better term) of you than anything that has actually happened, I'd say go for it.
Back in HS I read an app that was completely fictional, but down to earth and extremely funny. He went on about scuba diving in deserts, hang gliding across flatlands, wrestling animals and such. At the end was a nice message about his outlook on life. He was accepted.
