Use our UC personal statement samples to learn how to write a college essay for these prestigious institutions. The UC application system has eight prompts that they refer to as “personal insight questions.” Not unlike other college essays , the UC prompts cover very common college essay topics familiar to all applicants, including background, family, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, and so on. You can go through UC personal statement samples if you are finding it hard to write supplemental college essays of your own. Practicing the writing of supplemental essays will give you the confidence to easily overcome that obstacle when the time comes to submit your application to the university. Read on to learn how to write the best UC essay for your application.
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Uc personal statement requirements.
Before we go ahead and have a look at each prompt and the UC personal statement samples, let us go over the UC personal statement requirements.
According to the UC application requirements, prospective candidates must choose to respond to four out of the eight available questions. Each essay has a word limit of 350 words.
UC also offers a piece of advice by suggesting that while the questions you choose are up to you, you should choose the prompts that are “most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.” Keep in mind that the prompts are quite open-ended, so you have a lot of creative freedom when it comes to writing your essays. Try to choose prompts where you can showcase the qualities valued by the UC schools, such as leadership, creativity, diversity, academic prowess, and so on.
Learn how to write your college essays:
Now, let’s review expertly written UC personal statement samples. Below are essays that were written in response to four out of the eight prompts, as is required by UC. The fifth one is a bonus.
Prompt 1: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
In my junior year of high school, I set a goal for myself: I would start a jazz club. Although we had several music clubs, including acapella, classical, and rock – there were none for the music I loved: jazz. To me, jazz is a genre that transcends race and nationalities. It is the music of “understanding.” By my junior year, I’d been playing the saxophone for five years, mostly at home, and wanted to continue to play with others. I also wanted to expose my peers to the music that meant so much to me.
However, I also understood that jazz is the kind of music that attracted a distinct following. One must be exposed to live jazz before one can appreciate the beauty of this genre. I, therefore, knew I had to start by creating a buzz before considering forming a club, or it would be a club of one. And to create this buzz, I had to expose my schoolmates to live jazz and, therefore, create a jazz band.
I started looking for band members among my classmates. Not only did I ask my school to advertise my search in the school newspaper, but I also put up flyers at the entrance of the school to attract musicians.
Slowly, over three months, I found four musicians to form our jazz quintet. Once we had set up our rehearsal schedules and practiced a few songs, we were confident enough to perform our first gig at the upcoming “Culture Day” hosted by our school.
After enthusiastic ovations for our last song, we took the opportunity to announce our intention to form a school jazz club and welcome everyone to join us in appreciation of this eclectic genre.
Shortly after our performance, we had our club. Over the last year, the club has grown exponentially. I continued to practice with my band and other club members, and we even began to invite local jazz musicians to play with us. Today, the club is growing strong and I hope will remain a part of the X high school for years to come. (350 words)
As you can see from the UC personal statement samples and prompts, the UC schools are trying to understand what kinds of experiences you will bring to the college community. Remember, research each UC school to strategically choose experiences and skills to highlight in your essay.
The UC personal statements are submitted using the UC application system, so you will simply be banned from submitting your work.
Your essays should be stories. Tell the admissions committee who you are and what got you to where you are today.
Don’t forget to spell check and make sure there are no grammatical errors.
UC schools are some of the best universities in the world. This means, the competition for admission each year is cutthroat.
Focus on ways you can increase your chances by creating exceptional personal statements and essays.
You can only join a UC school if you have a minimum 3.0 GPA as a California resident and a 3.4 GPA if you are a non-resident.
Not everyone is good at writing personal statements. But, you can go ahead and work with college essay advisors to get some pointers on how to write a competent personal statement.
It really doesn’t matter if the UC prompts change every year or not. The point is that you learn to write the best essays that you can and succeed in getting admitted to the university – regardless of the prompt.
The first thing you need to remember is that the personal statement is like a story about you. If you look at the prompts for the UC personal statements, you can see that they ask about you and how you affect – or are affected by – your community, your background, your experiences, and so on.
To make your personal statement stand out, you need to tell a compelling story when answering the prompts.
Since you’re talking about your life and experiences, you can go with a semi-casual tone. Avoid vulgar terms, stay away from controversial topics, and never write about current hot topics in politics.
Remember: you want to leave a good impression with the admissions committee – so don’t shoot yourself in the foot by inadvertently offending them.
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How to make your college applications stand out, (and avoid the top 5 mistakes that get most rejected).
The Ivy Coach Daily
September 6, 2024
You should always use all the real estate they give you when writing your application essays. This means going to the maximum word limit , or as close as possible to it, on every written prompt. Just like the employee who shows up to the office late and leaves early appears lazy and uninterested in their job, the applicant who doesn’t take advantage of every last word seems to have better things to do than write their college application essays. And if you’re an academically ambitious high schooler intent on attending a highly selective college, you quite literally don’t have anything better to do than give your application your all. Your future is counting on it!
You might think those 100-character prompts often found in college supplements don’t apply to this rule, but think again. You want to max the word or character count wherever you see a blank space waiting for you to fill with words — with one notable exception.
The Common Application’s Personal Statement has a word limit of 650; you should go up to that limit or risk coming across as noncommittal. But is that all there is to this story? Not quite.
There is an age-old expression in elite college admissions that many students in 2024 are blissfully unaware of: “The thicker the file, the thicker the student.” Are we at Ivy Coach contradicting ourselves? No. We’re referring to the Additional Information section of The Common App. We often get prospective clients who come to us for a PostMortem after rejection from their top school. They have no idea what they could have possibly done wrong, and yet when one of our former elite college admissions officers takes a look at their application, the Additional Information section is filled with redundancies and superfluous information!
The Additional Information section should only include courses taken outside of school (along with corresponding grades) or list genuinely impressive activities that didn’t make it onto the activities list but complement your singular admissions hook . It’s also okay to include a published abstract in this section (unless the school has a section for abstracts, like Columbia University . Don’t make admissions officers read the same thing twice — their time is valuable!). Each time you apply, The Common App. will save the current incarnation of your application. So, be sure to check for redundancies before each submission (e.g., delete the abstract in Additional Information for Columbia if you’re including it under the Abstract section).
In most cases, the Additional Information section should be left blank. Fill out those essays (including the optional ones!). Go up to the maximum word count wherever possible. But don’t include a link to a video of your violin performance if your singular hook is computer science. Don’t include a poem if your hook is environmental advocacy. Your singular hook should be the focus of your application, and the Additional Information section should only include information that supports or enhances this hook.
Don’t waste admissions officers’ time — applicant pools to elite schools have swelled to the tens of thousands in recent years. They’ll probably only give your application a total of 8 minutes of consideration. This, of course, is more than enough time. The 8-minute rule is a guideline that suggests admissions officers spend about 8 minutes on each application, given the large number of applications they have to review. You don’t want to thrust them into a situation where they spend most of those precious 8 minutes deciphering some extraneous information that makes you a less competitive applicant.
If navigating these confusing and seemingly contradictory rules about applying to highly selective schools makes your head spin, take out the guesswork by relying on Ivy Coach ’s team of former elite college admissions officers to help your child earn admission to the school of their dreams. We will ensure their application communicates their singular hook as efficiently and effectively as possible.
If you’re interested in optimizing your child’s case for admission to a highly selective college, fill out our complimentary consultation form , and we’ll be in touch.
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« Previous: Index | Next: 1.2 - The 13 Points of Comprehensive Review »
an overview of the new UC application | |
have a basic understanding of the new UC application and how the new 8 personal insight questions fit into your application. | |
5 minutes |
Heads-up: the prompts for the UC application changed back in 2016!
Why the change? Long story short, the old prompts weren’t giving the University of California readers the information they needed--students often wrote responses that were either too general, too flowery, too academic, or too much about grandpa’s journey to America with five bucks in his pocket and a dream to perform in Hamilton (wait, that’s not how that goes).
Anyway, in case you haven’t seen ‘em yet (or even if you have), here are...
Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
First of all, sad face for getting rid of my favorite prompt ever ( click here for a love letter I wrote to the authors of the now-extinct UC prompt ). Anywho, the UC prompt is dead; long live the UC prompt.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to choose four of these topics and write 350 words on each.
Notice these are called “personal insight questions” and not “essays.”
Why the rename? As I understand it, some of the directors felt (and feel) that “essay” = “academic piece of writing.” And I agree that for some people the word “essay” is intimately connected with AP English style writing. And the UCs are not looking for an academic piece of writing--they’re looking for something else (more on that something else in a moment).
And though my New Oxford American Dictionary tells me the word “essay” simply means “a short piece of writing on a particular subject,” I’ll respect their opinion.
So know that when I use the word “essay” in this article I do not mean academic writing (like for an English class), I mean “a short piece of writing on a particular subject” (spoiler alert: that subject is you). And the views in this article are mine alone and not the UC directors'.
All right, let’s do this.
Here are a few things you need to know about the UC essays (sorry, short-pieces-of-writing-on-a-particular-subject-that-is-you):
1. The UCs are looking for some very specific information. They have detailed it in the 13 points of comprehensive review.
That’s right: there are 13 factors the UC readers use to evaluate your application (it’s public info, posted on the UC website here ).
1. Grade-point average 2. Performance in and number of courses beyond minimum a-g requirements 3. UC-approved honors courses and advanced courses 4. Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) – CA residents only 5. Quality of senior-year program of study 6. Academic opportunities in California high schools 7. Outstanding performance in one or more academic subject areas 8. Achievements in special projects 9. Improvement in academic performance 10. Special talents, achievements and awards 11. Participation in educational preparation programs 12. Academic accomplishment in light of life experiences 13. Geographic location
Note: No single factor determines admission, as your application is evaluated holistically.
(We’ll take a closer look at these in lesson 1.2 , btw.)
The next thing you should know is this:
2. Each of the eight personal insight questions is connected to one or more of the 13 points of comprehensive review.
I know this because the UC directors have publicly said this. So it’s a good idea to ask yourself, as you’re brainstorming your four topics, how will this help me on the 13 points of comprehensive review? (Tip: Your essay/personal insight question responses could connect to several of the 13 points.) Also note:
3. The UCs have done a GREAT job providing some useful information on how you can answer these prompts. For some good contextual advice and basic writing advice click here .
And before I tell you how to stand out, keep this in mind:
4. It’s okay to answer the personal insight questions in a direct, straightforward way. How do I know this? Because, at a recent conference, one of the UC directors said, “It’s okay to answer the questions in a direct, straightforward way.” Then the other UC directors nodded.
In fact, another director said it’s okay to just write bullet points in your response. (A high school counselor raised her hand and asked, “Really? Bullet points? Like, really really?” and the UC Director was like, “Yup.”)
Now: will you personally choose to provide bullet points? That’s up to you. It may feel a little weird since you’ve learned how to write in complete sentences and like use paragraphs and stuff. But just know that at least a few of the UC directors have said it’s cool.
I will say this:
5. A UC reader should probably be able to skim your responses to the personal insight questions and get your main points. Why? Because the reader will probably be spending about six to eight minutes on your application. Not on each essay. ON YOUR WHOLE APPLICATION.
So before I move on I just want to emphasize that it’s totally cool to get right to the point.
In fact, you might prefer doing that.
And if you want to write in a straightforward way (or simply use bullet points), you actually may not need to read the rest of this article.
In fact, let’s play Choose Your Own Adventure: if you’re confident your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars [along with the straightforward responses you will write for the personal insight questions] are good enough, then download this MSword doc , keep in mind the 13 points of comprehensive review, and get started.
Cue the turning point in this article.
6. If you’re applying to private schools via the Common App, it can be useful to write an essay that is insightful, well-crafted and reveals your core values. In other words, a stand-out essay.
Why take the time to write a stand-out essay?
It can save you lots of time. Since many selective schools require supplemental essays (that is: essays you write in addition to your main, 650-word Common App personal statement), it can be useful to write an essay that works for BOTH the UCs AND one or more private schools.
Quick example:
Michigan Supplement: Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (250 word limit).
UC Personal Insight Question #7: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (350 words).
We call that double dipping. And it's totally a great idea (when it comes to college application essays).
Another advantage of doing this:
Doubling-up your essays (i.e. writing one essay that works for two prompts) can make your essay better for both schools.
Quick example: If you put both of the prompts at the top of your page . . . and then write an essay that discusses BOTH your place within your community AND what you’ve done to make it a better place, that’s going to be a better essay than if you’d just written it for one prompt.
And this is an obvious example that centers around the word “community” that these two prompts share. But you can do this with prompts that are less obviously connected. For example, you could write an essay that answers both Michigan’s “describe [your] community and your place within it” AND answers UC prompt #2, which reads: “Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.” That’s an essay I’d like to read--one that answers both these prompts in the same 250 words. Impossible? Not at all.
And get this:
You can do this for multiple prompts (three, four, or seventeen), resulting in what I call a Super Essay.
A super essay is one that works for a lot of prompts. Think of a Super Essay as being in the center sweet spot of a Venn Diagram that has lots and lots of circles.
And if you think it’s impossible to write an essay that works for seventeen different prompts, stay tuned, because I’m about to share one with you.
But first, let’s look at the 13 points of Comprehensive Review...
Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, uc application word limit.
Hey everyone, quick question about the UC application essays. Do we have a specific word limit for these essays, or is it a character limit? Also, would you recommend trying to max out the word limit, or is it better to aim for a specific length? Thanks in advance!
Hello there! The University of California (UC) application essays, also known as Personal Insight Questions, each have a word limit of 350 words. There isn't a character limit, but the word limit should be adhered to. As for your second question, it's not necessarily about maxing out the word limit; rather, focus on effectively and concisely conveying your story, experiences, and insights.
A well-written essay might be shorter than the word limit, but it's essential that it provides a strong, detailed snapshot of your experiences, achievements, or aspirations. It's more about the content and clarity of your essay than the length. Quality always beats quantity when it comes to college essays.
That being said, if you find you're near or at the word limit and your essay effectively showcases your thoughts, then that's perfectly fine as well. Remember to proofread, revise, and get feedback from others to ensure you're presenting the best version of yourself in your essays. Good luck with your UC application!
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.
Regular Decision:
Regular Decision Deadline: Nov 30
The Requirements: 4 out of 8 essays, 350 words each
Supplemental Essay Type(s): Oddball , Community , Activity
The UC application sounds like a riddle. Every student must write four essays, but choose from eight prompts. The rules may be unfamiliar, but the game is the same: tell admissions something they don’t know – and then do it three more times! The instructions counsel you to “select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances,” and frankly, we couldn’t agree more. A strategic applicant will choose a constellation of the UC essay prompts that highlight vastly different aspects of their lives and personalities, leaving an admissions officer with a deep and complete picture of who they are. Don’t get hung up on trying to divine the questions admissions wants you to answer. In the end, they just want to get to know the real you, plus the application swears that “there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.” So follow your heart (!) and don’t let the fatigue get to you. Avoid robotically starting every answer by restating the question and be as anecdotal as possible. With each essay, your goal isn’t just to answer the question, but to tell a very short story about yourself. So, keep reading to get expert tips on how to write your UC essays!
1. describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. , things to consider: a leadership role can mean more than just a title. it can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. what were your responsibilities, did you lead a team how did your experience change your perspective on leading others did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization and your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. for example, do you help out or take care of your family.
When answering this UC personal insight question, avoid the siren song of your resume. This question isn’t asking you for a list! Remember: it’s your job, as an applicant, to use every essay as an opportunity to reveal something new about yourself. Think of a moment when you were in a position where you worked really hard to help a group of people. Maybe you are always the one helping your younger siblings with their homework, and you struggled to find ways to engage your dyslexic younger brother with math. Maybe, as a camp counselor or church volunteer, you were in charge of choreographing and instructing a number for a group of seven-year-old hip hop dancers to perform. Perhaps, on a Habitat for Humanity school trip, you became the head cook, whipping up everything from pancakes to chicken fajitas while galvanizing a team of sous chefs to pitch in.
The point is, try to isolate a single leadership moment, and bring it to life with vivid details. Describe where you were, what was happening around you, and what you were feeling. Discuss what challenges you faced, and what you ultimately learned from the experience. Don’t shy away from challenges or even failures, since these are exactly the sorts of character-building experiences that can demonstrate resilience and quick thinking.
Things to consider: what does creativity mean to you do you have a creative skill that is important to you what have you been able to do with that skill if you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution what are the steps you took to solve the problem, how does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom does your creativity relate to your major or a future career.
You may think that this UC personal insight question was geared towards the artistically inclined, but take a closer look. The wording offers many potential definitions that veer away from traditional conceptions of creativity (and actually, it asks you for your personal definition!). Creativity lies in your outlook: seeing the opportunity to use one of your skills in a novel situation; looking at a problem from a new angle to find the solution that no one else could see. This question is, in reality, ideal for the more scientifically oriented to create a more well-rounded profile. Creative types, on the other hand, might want to proceed with caution since, really, every question is an opportunity to show off your talents and describe your artistic endeavors.
No matter who you are, though, remember this classic writing advice: show don’t tell. So, you claim that gardening, or Calculus, or painting is how you show your creative side. Okay. So, then immerse the reader in this activity with you . If you enjoy gardening, describe the plants, their qualities, and how you make your horticultural choices; are you drawn to the aesthetics or are you botanically inquisitive? Similarly, if your subject is Calculus, show the reader how you sat in your dad’s office for six hours straight trying to calculate Pi on a three dozen sheets of paper using red crayon. If you love to paint, show the reader where you paint, what you paint, and why you paint, describing the colors, textures, materials—the essential process behind your art. Write descriptively so that the reader can feel as if he or she were experiencing your creative passion with you.
Things to consider: if there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. you don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about it, feel free to do so). why is this talent or skill meaningful to you, does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom if so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule.
If question 3 reminds you of question 2, you’re not alone. Often, when we talk about a talent or skill that we have honed over the course of a lifetime, we’re inclined to describe it as an art — a creative extension of who we are. So if you choose to respond to both of these UC personal insight questions, make sure to highlight distinct skills in each.
The good news is: finding your subject should be easy! You just need to answer this question: what makes you proud? Think about the stories that your friends and family like to share about you. Think about moments when your hard work paid off. When you can zero in on an experience that makes your heart swell, you’ll be able to pinpoint your essential subject. If the memory of your first swim meet victory still makes you smile, draw us into your rigorous training schedule; describe the aspects of the sport that motivate you to wake up early and push yourself. What were your challenges? What has this experience taught you? This narrative should have a clear timeline that traces your growth from the past to the present and into the future. How do you plan to further develop your talent in college and/or after college? Show not only that you have grown, but that you will continue to grow as you take your first steps into adulthood.
Things to consider: an educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. for example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few. , if you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them what personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge how did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today.
This question is tricky because it has two parts. So first break the question down: You can write about either A.) How you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity OR B.) How you have worked to overcome an educational barrier. The “or” is key. You are not being asked to write about both parts of this question. Just write about one.
If you have participated in an afterschool program, internship, honors program, or a special class that was meaningful or inspiring to you, you will want to think about choosing option A. Maybe it was an afterschool program for young, aspiring lawyers, or an advanced history class that you took at your local community college. This is an opportunity for you to showcase your ambition and highlight the kinds of challenges that engage and excite you. Beyond underscoring an academic interest, reflect on the personal qualities required for you to succeed. And remember to show, not tell! It will save you from accidentally humble-bragging your way through this assignment.
Now, for option B. If you have worked to overcome a disability, struggled in school because you have a different background than your peers, suffered financial hardship, or something along those lines, you can choose to write about option B. To nail this tricky task, you will need to highlight not only the ways you struggled, but also the qualities that helped you succeed. How would you define yourself? Resilient? Hardworking? Brave? Zero in on a quality that resonates with you, and write targeted descriptions that bring it to life. (No one is going to believe you if you just write, “I am resilient,” and leave it at that.) Lastly, reflect on how this barrier shaped who you are today, and what skills you gained through facing this educational barrier.
Things to consider: a challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. why was the challenge significant to you this is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone, if you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life for example, ask yourself, “how has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends or with my family”.
If you skipped question 4 or chose to write about option A, this question is a gift: a second chance to showcase your resilience in the face of obstacles. On the other hand, if you chose to write about option B in question 4, this might feel redundant. You are free to write about both, but again, proceed with caution and be sure to select a totally different challenge.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: questions that ask you to describe a struggle or failure are really probing for stories about success. What pro-active steps did you take to address the problem at hand? Even if your solution didn’t work out perfectly, what did you learn? In facing this challenge, did you discover a courageous, creative, or hard-working side of yourself? Did you learn something valuable about yourself or others? Highlight the upside. How did this challenge shape who you are today? And how will the skills that you gained dealing with this challenge will help you in college and beyond?
Things to consider: many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. if that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs — and what you have gained from your involvement., has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or future career have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, ap, ib, college or university work) are you inspired to pursue this subject further at uc, and how might you do that.
If you’ve ever referred to yourself as a “nerd” or “geek”, this question is probably for you. To nail down a topic for this bad boy, you can work in two directions: (1) think about how your favorite academic subject has impacted your extracurricular pursuits, or (2) trace one of your favorite hobbies back to its origins in the classroom. Maybe your love of languages led you to take a job at a coffee shop frequented by multilingual tourists. Or perhaps your now-extensive coin collection was resurrected when you did a research project on ancient Roman currency. Whichever way you go about it, building a bridge between the scholarly and the personal lies at the heart of answering this prompt.
Things to consider: think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place —like your high school, hometown or home. you can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community, why were you inspired to act what did you learn from your effort how did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community.
Some backwards advice: When writing about community service, you should always start with yourself. Community service essays are cliché minefields. To avoid drifting into platitudes, you need to ground your writing in the specificity of your life. Don’t start with the action and end with what you learned. Instead, dig into your motivations. If you spent weeks petitioning your school community to raise the hourly wage for custodial staff, what prompted you to act? What assumptions did you have about income inequality and what did you learn about your community in the process? Or, maybe you weren’t too enthused about your community service. Maybe you participated in a soccer-team-mandated day of coaching a pee-wee team. What caused your skepticism? How did you turn the experience around?
Also, don’t just choose a topic that sounds impressive. “This year I acted as the co-chair of the Honors Society, presiding over twenty different cases.” If you didn’t, in fact, really enjoy Honors Society, write about a topic that means something to you instead. Think of a moment where you felt like you made a change in your local community. It can be something small; it does not have to be monumental, but it should mean a great deal to you. Describe the moment, using detail to bring it to life, and then reflect on what that experience taught you, and how you hope to continue these activities in the future.
Things to consider: if there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your change. what have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better, from your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for uc don’t be afraid to brag a little..
This question is really just what it says it is—an open-ended, choose-your-own-adventure question. Is there something that you really, really want to tell the UC admissions team that you feel makes you a strong and unique candidate that is not showcased in the other three personal insight questions? As with the other questions, whatever topic you choose, please use detail and description to bring this topic to life for the reader, and include thoughtful reflection on why this topic matters to you. Also, be sure to explain why your chosen topic makes you stand out as a strong candidate for the UC schools, since the question specifically asks you to do that!
College Essay Advisors has over twenty years of experience guiding students one-on-one through the essay writing process for the University of California (UC) system. We take a holistic approach to these essays, considering each student’s application package as a whole. It’s incredibly important to us that each student’s voice is preserved, and we pride ourselves in helping students to write successful UC personal insight essays that differentiate them from similarly qualified applicants.
We hope you enjoyed our UC application essay tips! Don’t hesitate to submit a contact form below if you’d like to work with an experienced College Essay Advisor on your drafts!
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Applicants must respond to four (4) out of the eight (8) Personal Insight Questions.
Each UC Personal Insight Question asks for a response of 350 words.
We recommend reading each prompt and jotting down a few ideas that come to mind. Next, review your notes and elaborate on each story. You’ll be able to tell rather quickly which of your stories have the most potential to transform into 350-word essays and reveal new, interesting information to admissions regarding your candidacy!
As with all application essays, admissions is hoping to read essays that help them to get to know the person behind the application data. They even say on their website , “There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.”
No! You need to write a total of four (4) essays. These essays should have very little (if any) overlap.
The UC essays are quite important! They’re your only opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice. The admissions committee will be reviewing dozens of applications each day, which means they are assessing a lot of data. These essays present an opportunity for you to humanize your application and stand out from the crowd.
Applicants will want to avoid silly grammar mistakes , repeating the prompt in their response, and telling rather than showing (e.g., saying you are determined without giving an example of a time you displayed determination).
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– CEA Student, UCLA, Class of 2026
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For many high school seniors, the college application process can be a scary one. The dreaded writing portion can be especially time-consuming. You have to describe yourself to an application reviewer and hope they get to know you aside from your test scores and course load. Some colleges require long essays; some don’t require them at all. The University of California requires you to respond to four out of eight Personal Insight Questions , and you have a maximum of 350 words for each.
Fear not, though: These are great opportunities to express yourself. The prompts let you describe different aspects of your life instead of feeling confined to writing one impersonal summary. When starting this part of the UC application, I learned a lot along the way.
A rule so simple that it seems obvious. I was in high school once, too, and as a college student, I hate to break it to you, but procrastination still creeps in. The UC application opens on August 1 every year and closes on November 30. That means you have about four months to work on your application. I’m not saying on Aug. 1 you should sit down and knock it all out. In fact, I started looking at my application at the end of October and submitted it in mid-November.
You’re given a large window of time for a reason. This is your college application we’re talking about, so it’s important to take the time to think and pre-plan what exactly you want to write about.
I'll admit I’m guilty of this one. When I first looked at the Personal Insight Questions I wrote down the four questions I thought would look really good on my application.
It wasn’t until I actually sat down to draft how I wanted to respond to each question that I noticed two were too similar in content. Later in this blog, you’ll see why it’s important to differentiate what you write about. But for the time being, I’ll simply say I went back to the list and picked a question that was a little out of my comfort zone. The new question I chose actually ended up being my favorite response. I felt better making that switch after learning that all of the personal insight questions are viewed equally. Reviewers are looking for thoughtful answers, not necessarily the right answer.
There are two things to remember when explaining the growth you've experienced facing your challenges:
If you're going to talk about a setback you faced — like the time you broke a bone in the second grade — it should describe its lasting impact on you . Either describe its lasting impact or choose another question or instance that aligns better with your current self.
In one of my responses, I wrote about how I fractured my elbow during my junior year and was out for half of the Varsity Tennis season. Through hard work, I was able to place second in the league tournament and made it to CIF with my doubles partner. This was relatively close to when I was applying, and the event had made an impact on my life.
Childhood stories and recent events are great instances where you can show growth. Make sure in either case you make strong connections between the event to how you’ve become the person you are today.
Application reviewers only get 1,400 words to learn about you. This may seem like a lot, but fitting your life into four short responses can be tough. That’s why with so few words, it’s crucial you present diversity in the content. You can do this by picking questions very different from each other or mixing your accomplishments into other prompts. Whatever you choose to do, remember: diversifying is key.
When writing my responses I thought they were great, needing not a single revision. I was wrong. When my IB English teacher offered to read my Personal Insight Questions, I thought, “Why not?” I brought her my printed responses and she started marking them up right away.
At first, I was surprised. Did I really do that bad? When she read her suggestions to me, I agreed with every. single. One.
It’s easy to associate constructive criticism with a pejorative. Sometimes we forget others' suggestions help open our minds to things we don’t always think of on our own. That’s the great thing about being human. We all have our own perspectives. If we embrace it for what it is, we can make our work that much better.
This one seems easy on the surface, but it's really hard to avoid once you get down to writing.
When any of us talk about the most inspirational person in our lives it's hard not to want to include all the context that makes them so great. Again, you only have 1,400 words to give reviewers a peek at what makes up your life, accomplishments, and background.
If you spend 25 percent of that time talking about someone else, it’s even harder for them to get to know you. Inspirational people are huge influences on who we are and it’s hard not to give them the credit they deserve. If you are going to reference them, do it briefly and pivot to how that person’s influence has made you who you are .
Yes, the college application process can be scary to start, but it can also be a fun exercise reconnecting with yourself. You get to share your accomplishments and personality through self-reflection. It might seem awkward sharing it all with a stranger, don’t get me wrong. Think of it more like a written highlights reel. If a friend was describing you to a stranger, what parts of your highlight reel would they want to share?
For information about Personal Insight Questions, check out these resources from the University of California’s website , this blog from UC Davis Undergraduate Admissions, and this webpage from UC Davis about Personal Insight Questions.
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Directions. You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words. Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you. However, you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.
Each of the eight UC personal insight questions has a 350 word limit. This is not quite like your Common App. The Common App gives you the chance to make one single, bold, loud statement—a 650-word personal statement—and to embellish that essay with more information in the Activities section and, in some cases, in supplemental essays ...
3. Outline the structure of your essay, and plan out content for an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. 4. Before you start writing your essay, write one or two sentences that summarize how you would like the admissions officers to perceive you based on this essay.
These short essays—each with a 350-word limit—are different from the essays you write in school, which tend to focus on analyzing someone else's work. Really, the application essays are much closer to a short story. ... Demonstrating your problem-solving abilities in your UC college essay will make you a stronger candidate for admission.
DO Use the Word Limit Wisely. Speaking of word limits, while 200-250 isn't the most restrictive range in the world, it's not extremely generous either. When writing your UC essays, think about which information your application would be incomplete without conveying.
Step 2: Complete one BEABIES chart per topic you're considering. Get this: If done correctly (in other words, if you spend at least 15-20 min. per activity and really think about the questions listed at the link above), the BEABIES exercise will basically write your essay for you. Do it and see.
Can UC Essays Be Over 350 Words? No, your UC essays should be 350 words or fewer. 3. Do UC Essays Have to Be 250 Words? There's no minimum word count for the UC essays. However, you should aim for your answers to be at least 250 words so you can adequately answer the prompt. ... or exceed the word limit. 6. What Do UC Admissions Look for in ...
UC Personal Insight Question Word Limit. Each of the four essays you select has a maximum word length of 350 words. That means that you'll be writing a maximum of 1,400 words for your UC essays. But don't worry about perfectly meeting this word limit for every single essay. You should shoot to hit at least 275 words for each essay, though.
Hi there! For the UC personal insight questions, there is a 350-word limit for each essay. You'll have to choose 4 questions out of the available 8 to answer. So, make sure to keep each of your responses within that limit and focus on clearly expressing your experiences and insights. Keep in mind that this is subject to change from year to year, so it's a good idea to check the UC admissions ...
Discussion of UC Sample Essay by Angie . Angie's essay comes in at 322 words, a little below the 350-word limit. 350 words is already a small space in which to tell a meaningful story, so don't be afraid to submit an essay that's close to the word limit (as long as your essay isn't wordy, repetitive, or lacking substance).
Hello! The UC personal insight essays have a word limit of 350 words per essay. It's important to keep in mind that the word limit exists for a reason, as it allows you to thoroughly address the prompts and showcase your experiences, personality, and achievements in a well-rounded manner. That being said, you don't necessarily have to hit the maximum word count in order to have an impactful essay.
UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #1: Make one anecdote the star of your UC essay. These UC essays are especially tricky because of the word limit: you only have 350 words to convey your message per essay. That means this: Don't do too much in one short essay. In other words, don't try to write about 3 different topics in one essay so that you ...
Hey! Yes, the word count limit for the Personal Insight Questions (PIQs) is the same for all UC campuses. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words. There are four required PIQs, so you'll be writing 1,400 words in total. Keep in mind, it's essential to stay within this word limit to ensure your essays are fully reviewed. Make sure to review your responses carefully to adhere to this ...
This 2016-17 UC application year, you must write 4 short essays totaling 1400 words (350 word limit each). To give you some context, in previous years, students had to write 2 essays totaling 1000 words… So, you'll have to come up with 2 more extra topics this year AND write more.
If you have writer's block and want to jumpstart your UC personal insight essay writing process, then these UC essay examples will most definitely help :). Remember, you must write 4 UC essays; the word limit is 350! Additional UC essay resources: Official UC Personal Insight Question prompts are here.
The word limit is 350 for each Personal Insight Questions essay. There's no minimum. I would make sure to write at least 250 for each essay, and best to shoot for 300-350 to take advantage of the space. ... EIGHTEEN I would write your essays on a Word doc or by hand, and then transfer the final essays to the UC application only when you are ...
Each essay has a word limit of 350 words. UC also offers a piece of advice by suggesting that while the questions you choose are up to you, you should choose the prompts that are "most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances." Keep in mind that the prompts are quite open-ended, so you have a lot of ...
Prompt 3: Greatest Talent or Skill. UC Example Essay #8: "The Art Girl". Prompt 4: Significant Opportunity or Barrier. UC Example Essay #9. UC Example Essay #10. UC Example Essay #11: "Two Truths, One Lie". UC Example Essay #12: Prompt 5: Overcoming a Challenge. UC Essay Example #13: "Breaking Up With Mom".
You should always use all the real estate they give you when writing your application essays. This means going to the maximum word limit, or as close as possible to it, on every written prompt. Just like the employee who shows up to the office late and leaves early appears lazy and uninterested in their job, the applicant who doesn't take advantage of every last word seems to have better ...
Here are a few things you need to know about the UC essays (sorry, short-pieces-of-writing-on-a-particular-subject-that-is-you): 1. ... and describe that community and your place within it. (250 word limit). UC Personal Insight Question #7: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (350 words).
Hello there! The University of California (UC) application essays, also known as Personal Insight Questions, each have a word limit of 350 words. There isn't a character limit, but the word limit should be adhered to. As for your second question, it's not necessarily about maxing out the word limit; rather, focus on effectively and concisely conveying your story, experiences, and insights.
University of California (UC) 2024-25 Essay Prompt Guide. The Requirements: 4 out of 8 essays, 350 words each. Supplemental Essay Type(s): Oddball, Community, Activity . How to Write UC Personal Insight Questions. The UC application sounds like a riddle. Every student must write four essays, but choose from eight prompts.
The University of California requires you to respond to four out of eight Personal Insight Questions, and you have a maximum of 350 words for each. Fear not, though: These are great opportunities to express yourself. The prompts let you describe different aspects of your life instead of feeling confined to writing one impersonal summary.