Watch this video for helpful tips on what the questions are about and how to approach answering them. Transfer Personal Insight Questions (link is external) (link is external) There is one required question you must answer. You don’t have a lot of space in the UC application to write about all your accomplishments, interests, and dreams for the past 4 years. I’d correct this excerpt like this: “I need to come up with something to help Jason remember and understand. Nothing else can tell you exactly what they want to learn about you in this essay! Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. Make sure that the flow — the transitions — are there. Showcase intellectual curiosity. Here’s an easy way to check for redundancies: Avoid using the same word in the same sentence. In this blog post, we’ll go over UC Personal Insight Questions tips and examples that’ll take your essays to the next level. Showcase the conflict or obstacle that you encountered. However, you don’t want to overdose on flowery language, either. In this video I read my essays for the personal insight questions on the University of California (UC) application for transfer students. There’s the journey you took to get here too. Freshman Personal Insight Questions (link is external) (link is external) You will have 8 questions to choose from. The UCLA personal essay component is tough. Do you have: Anything interesting will work! If she didn’t write about this event, the admissions officer for UC Berkeley or UCLA would never have known this unique aspect of who she is! In recent years, it has received a record number of applications. When I read something like this, it’s like, “What DIFFERENT aspects of music are you talking about? Also, here’s a hint: A fantastic UC Personal Insight Question to use for this type of essay is prompt #8. In your application—including your answers to the personal insight questions—we are looking for evidence of your intellectual curiosity and your interest in personal development. If I were to rewrite this, I’d write something like this (of course, I’m just making things up): “I was intrigued that there were many aspects of classical music that I was unaware of; elements like notations and dynamic markings are crucial to mastering the piano and playing with purpose. In other words, your 4 responses to the UC Personal Insight Questions should combine to give a holistic view of who you are as an applicant; don’t squander an opportunity to showcase yourself by being redundant in your UC essays. Many of the UC personal insight essay examples I’ve shown you … The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC. Checkout these UC Personal Insight Questions examples: Writing about growth is honestly perhaps one of the more important UC Personal Insight tips I have for you. Showcase your role in solving the conflict. Personal Insight Questions. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. What do you think looks more pleasing and interesting to read, especially to a tired admissions officer? Obviously, don’t overdo these to the point that it gets distracting, but doing so gives an illusion that you’re a better writer than you actually are , This is a quick and dirty essay tip to employ that many of my students do. Check this link out if you need inspiration for, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #11: Use Contractions, showcase different data points about yourself, per essay. Clearly, the student loves to learn about a topic specific to him. UCLA is one of the most popular universities in California. Obviously, don’t overdo these to the point that it gets distracting, but doing so gives an illusion that you’re a better writer than you actually are . If the West Coast calls to you and you like the idea of finding your niche in a large top tier university, UCLA may be the school for you.If you’re still working on your responses to the UC essay prompts, these examples may help. #2: 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. But, for now, at least the redundancy is slightly better and we’ve deleted 4 words . Personal insight questions There’s a lot more to your UC application than grades and coursework. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #1: Make one anecdote the star of your UC essay, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #2: Showcase growth throughout your essay, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #3: Showcase intellectual curiosity, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #4: Showcase something personal not on your UC application, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #5: Refrain from a wall of text, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #6: Use colons, dashes, sentence variations essay, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #7: Be concise & remove redundancies, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #8: Don’t sound negative, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #9: Avoid vague language, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #10: Work on transitions between paragraphs and sentences, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #12: Explicitly answer the essay prompt, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #13: Think twice before answering prompt #5, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #14: Vary introductions, UC Personal Insight Essay Tip #15:Ensure that each essay is distinct, [2020 Updated] UC Personal Insight Essay Examples. 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. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? by Winning Ivy Prep Team | Jun 5, 2020 | UC Personal Insight Essay Guide. My UC essay tip: choose the latter. In recent years, it has received a record number questions applications. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. Many of the UC personal insight essay examples I’ve shown you do a fantastic job showcasing intellectual curiosity — your UC essays should do the same. UCLA is a dynamic and exciting place—due largely to our creative, ambitious, and diverse student body. Each response is limited to 350 words. Admissions officers always look for students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity (basically, it means love of learning) in the UC application and UC Personal Insight essays. Each sentence and word must add value to your story…if it doesn’t add anything, then get rid of it! Attending info sessions and participating in webinars and chats is a great way to figure that out. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. In other words, stylish and approachable. All University of California schools require you to write four mini-essays of 350 words. A story about moving and changing schools? Founder of Non-profit. I’ll give you an example using a UC personal insight essay excerpt from this previous student: “I know I need to come up with something to help Jason remember, and with something he understands. UC personal insight question #1. Firstly, admissions officers *love* to read about how you’ve grown from an event. The Requirements: 4 out of 8 essays, 350 words each. Describe how you express your creative side. This can be an intimidating question if you approach it too broadly. UC Sample Essay, Question #2 . Here’s why: There are actually two additional comments sections — one has a limit of 550 words and the other has a limit of 550 characters. 1. Many students write in such vague ways that it can be ridiculously frustrating for a reader. I’ve shown you do a fantastic job showcasing intellectual curiosity — your UC essays should do the same. Take a look at the image above. So how exactly do you add depth, you may ask? Describe how you express your creative side. Clearly, the student loves to learn about a topic specific to him. Here’s a quick and easy essay tip: Reuse the words in the prompt so that it’s extra clear you’re answering the prompt. UCLA is a dynamic and exciting place—due largely to our creative, ambitious, and diverse student body. students write in such vague ways that it can be ridiculously frustrating for a reader. Use words like “creative” and “original” in your essays (especially towards the end) to drill it into the reader’s heads that you’re 100% fully and explicitly answering the prompt. Be straightforward enough in your writing — don’t convolute words because it sounds more “intelligent.”. That’s more than enough space to write about the personal hardships if you feel like it needs to be mentioned. Here are basic steps: So what does a UC essay with great depth actually look like? Formal writing (the kind that you might be used to in analyzing Jane Eyre for English class) is great for school. 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. Honestly, this is sort of a personality issue more than anything, but sounding even remotely negative is rarely a good thing in these UC Personal Insight Questions. Describe how you express your creative side. 1967 www.wacac.org Fall 2017 UC ApplicationFreshman Personal Insight Questions Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. If you take a look at this UC Personal Insight leadership essay example, this student makes use dashes effectively. So, not many students actually do this. If you take a look at this. Check this link out if you need inspiration for transition words/phrases. It’s not overt, per se, but this sort of writing style reflects you in a negative light, so don’t do it! Supplemental Essay Type(s): Oddball, Community, Activity University of California 2020-2021 Application Essay Question Explanations The UC application sounds like a riddle. You’re in luck! Now, if you do have a life event or something that has hindered or influenced your academics in any way, you have two options: You can write about it here OR you can write about it in the additional comments section of the UC application. Behold: our, 20 UC Personal Insight Questions examples, is something you can easily tackle in your overall application because you literally have 4 UC essays to showcase breadth of experience. Remember, the personal questions are just that — personal. This seems pretty obvious, but always have a positive spin on anything you write. Wall of text = not fun to read. In fact, you should keep away from using the same word more than twice in the same paragraph! Your child can use this premier resource to understand the purpose of each question, choose which questions to answer, and craft outstanding responses that impress the UCLA application readers. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. Now, don’t be casual to the point of sounding sloppy, but contractions are ok to use. That said, I had no reason to grumble…”. You know what I mean by slightly negative? . That’s the story we want to hear. Breadth is something you can easily tackle in your overall application because you literally have 4 UC essays to showcase breadth of experience. , this student makes use dashes effectively. This is a pretty great hack to elevate your UC essay (as long as you’re grammatically correct): Vary your sentence structure every so often by using dashes, semicolons, colons, dialogue, and rhetorical questions, just to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. Check out our epic, updated directory of 2018 UC essay examples that worked, AKA UC personal insight questions examples AKA UC personal statement, to see how some others have approached the UC prompts and get into that sunny University of California school of your dreams. Questions & guidance. Top 3 Successful UCLA Essays. More thanstudents applied ucla UCLA last fall, and ucla numbers are expected to remain the same for this upcoming application season. Personal Insight Questions. Capturing yourself in 4 short, 350 word essays is no easy task — but if you follow these UC essay tips, you’ll be in shape to pump out some stellar content! Thus, admissions officers are on the lookout (especially via the UC personal insight essays) to pinpoint applicants that can bring this growth mindset to the UCs. Take a look at this UC Personal Insight Essay Example. Use at least one of your UC Personal Insight Essays to showcase a personal aspect of who you are — something that isn’t highlighted in your activities list, if possible. It’s always better to go for DEPTH per essay rather than BREADTH. And, you have these tired admissions officers reading your UC essays — you definitely don’t want to make their jobs more difficult and boring. Luckily, we got some helpful tips from us at Prompt â from our long experience helping applicants succeed. Personal statement Most UC campuses require a personal statement in addition to a statement of purpose. Suddenly, I have it…his eyes light up with understanding, and I can’t help but smile with pride by how my on-the-spot creativity helped Jason learn a concept he before struggled to grasp.”, To be honest, I’d edit this short excerpt even more because it can be written in a much better way. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. The department personal statement that is submitted with the supplemental application, is distinct from the UC personal insight questions. Berkeley has over 100 majors across our five colleges: Letters and Science, Natural Resources, Engineering, Chemistry, Environmental Design, and the Haas School of Business (transfers only; freshman read below). s tips and examples that’ll take your essays to the next level. Shipped away from the faraway land of [state name], I moved to India in 8th … Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. “I felt intrigued that I was unaware of these different aspects of music and that I was unaware of how I can intertwine different topics to improve piano playing to the point that theory was just as important as the physical part of piano.”. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. The department faculty do have access to your UC responses. When Laura first showed me the cubicle I’d be working out of, I thought it was a practical joke. to write about all your accomplishments, interests, and dreams for the past 4 years. that is dripping with intellectual curiosity. These college essays are from students who got accepted at University of California – Los Angeles.Use them to get inspiration for your own essays and knock the socks off those admissions officers! Lack of transitions and choppy sentence structures are relatively common in college application essays. This student does a fantastic job showcasing a lightbulb moment she had while doing yoga! From developing your talents and skills, to making a difference in your community, to preparing for your major: everything you’ve done has led you here. Depth is the piece that everyone’s answers to the UC Personal Insight Questions lack — so if your UC essays. Showcase your anecdote by first setting up the scene of the story. If you’re unsure about the grammatical rules of these devices, take a look at a, remember and understand. This is a pretty great hack to elevate your UC essay (as long as you’re grammatically correct): Vary your sentence structure every so often by using dashes, semicolons, colons, dialogue, and rhetorical questions, just to name a few. For one of her Personal Insight essays, Angie responded to question #2: 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. This is the most important tip to bear in mind. Does the NEXT paragraph pick up where the last paragraph ended? In other words, your 4 responses to the UC Personal Insight Questions should combine to give a. of who you are as an applicant; don’t squander an opportunity to showcase yourself by being redundant in your UC essays. Admissions officers always look for students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity (basically, it means love of learning) in the UC application and UC Personal Insight essays. How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Ask us in the comments below! Keep in mind: you’re limited on a 350 word count. Most UC essays I read fall short in this analysis department, so if you can go the extra mile and knock this out of the ballpark, you’re golden! UCLA personal insight questions for 2020-2021. This student does a fantastic job showcasing a lightbulb moment she had while doing yoga! So, here’s a tip: break up your UC essay into several different paragraphs. Here’s another super useful UC essay tip: Vary the intros per essay. If you’re unsure about the grammatical rules of these devices, take a look at a resource like this one. Respond to four of the following eight questions. Think about it this way: You’ll be writing 4 different essays, and at least two of them should begin in a different way to capture the attention of the droopy-eyed, tired admissions reader. In order to delve deeply into a subject, you only have space for one anecdote — one experience — as the main star of your UC Personal Insight essay. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. Depth is the piece that everyone’s answers to the UC Personal Insight Questions lack — so if your UC essays have depth, you’ll no doubt stand out from the crowd. Many students are undecided about their major and there are options in three of Berkeley’s colleges to be "undeclared". In other words, tell them a personal story or a personal interest. Now, it doesn’t work if you simply use the phrase, “intellectual curiosity” in your essay and call it a day. Our 2020 Anderson Strategy Guide is out now to help you out with this very unusual essay Yes, even the word, “I” can be taken out. Freshman Application Questions Western ACAC ~ Est. One trigger word that shows this vagueness in language is the word, “different.” Here, I’ll literally give you an example from a previous student’s very rough UC Personal Insight essay draft. Youâre going to ace this. Ask yourself this: what four distinct data points do I want to show the admissions officers about who I am? For instance, if two of your essays begin with imagery as an intro, then start another essay with dialogue. 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. But, the UC personal insight essays (and Common App essays, for that matter) are NOT school essays. You must start early. UCLA is one of the most popular universities in California. Does the first sentence flow into the next sentence seamlessly, or does it feel choppy and/or disconnected? You have to show that you love to learn about XYZ. The UC Personal Insight Questions is your only opportunity to literally “speak” to the admissions committee about attributes that aren’t immediately clear in your overall application. For Letters and Science… Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. The personal insight questions are a key part of your UC application. “Personal insight” questions are meant to allow the applicant to “add clarity, richness and meaning to the information in the other parts” of the application. Here are the most recent University of California freshman application personal insight questions:. As the captain of my soccer team, I have spent two years leading a group of young women in a high-pressure, intensely competitive setting. Once you’re on your second or third draft, do this: Scrutinize each and every single sentence. If she didn’t write about this event, the admissions officer for UC Berkeley or UCLA would never have known this unique aspect of who she is! This is a quick and dirty essay tip to employ that many of my students do. Suddenly, I have it…his eyes light up with understanding, and I can’t help but smile with pride by how my on-the-spot creativity helped, learn a concept he before struggled to grasp.”. An applicant’s ability to recognize learnings from an event and grow intellectually and personally is extremely important to colleges. UC personal insight questions examples will help you learn how to answer the essay prompts of the University of California. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, … Responses to Personal Insight Questions. And what does it look like when you effectively follow these UC essay tips? Have more questions on how to effectively answer the UC Personal Insight Questions? #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. Need I say more? I know — this seems pretty obvious, but some students don’t even do this, so it’s worth mentioning. Here’s the final UC essay tip — showcase different data points about yourself per essay. You’re in luck! 100% of my students have had issues with sentence and word redundancies at some point, so I’m willing to bet you’ll encounter this as well. Use dialogue if your anecdote warrants it, and allow that dialogue to take up one line of space. Use the questions the University of California admissions department provided with each Personal Insight Question, as well as the excellent related worksheet they shared on their web site (see below). If I had to characterize the kind of clothes that your UC Personal Insight Question should be wearing, I’d say this: JCrew, not Brooks Brothers. Here’s an example from a UC essay draft of a student of mine that we had to correct: “For an advocacy group that existed to protect homeowners, it definitely could’ve done with a better piece of real estate. Tell your story This evaluationwriter your opportunity to expand on your background, successful unique experiences, challenges and ucla samples give the committee a … UC PERSONAL INSIGHT QUESTIONS. In your application—including your answers to the personal insight questions—we are looking for evidence of your intellectual curiosity and your interest in personal development. Get college admissions counseling, college application coaching, and free essay tips from Ivy League graduates. Every student must write four essays, but choose from eight prompts. !” In the context of this essay topic, this was an important learning for the student, but she didn’t explicitly tell us. Start your Prompt 8 essay with that example to engage the reader. Suddenly, I have it…Jason’s eyes light up with understanding, and I can’t help but smile with pride with how my on-the-spot creativity helped Jason learn something he before struggled to grasp.”. Secondly, writing about growth from an event is usually very difficult. That way, you’ll have 4 full UC essays focused on showing exactly who you are to the admissions officers! The following are tips to help applicants find appropriate topics, styles and tones for their answers to the personal insight questions. 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 fact, we’ve put together all the UC prompts that are available and examples from our database to help with your essay writing: UC Prompt #1. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions. Write your Personal Insight Questions using our free and low-cost comprehensive online courses, which include UC essay examples, step-by-step guides, and more to help you learn how to craft a University of California application if you're a high school senior or junior. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? If you are still trying to determine your major, Berkeley Guidecan help. Contact UsCollege Admissions CounselingCollege Essay CoachingCollege Admissions Blog, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Wondering how to successfully write UC essays? This is a big one. The 2020 University of California application includes eight personal insight questions, and all applicants must write responses to four of the questions.These mini-essays are limited to 350 words, and they take the place of longer personal statements required on many other applications. You have to. Analyze how you grew and what you learned from this experience. depth, you’ll no doubt stand out from the crowd. They give us insight about you in your own words as we review applications. Now, step back and look at the transitions between paragraphs. Tips to Answer Personal Insight Questions. Freshman applicants: Personal insight questions Answer any 4 of the following 8 questions: (click blue to see post on that prompt) Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve … These UC essays are especially tricky because of the word limit: you only have 350 words to convey your message per essay. Overview: The UC essay prompts. Your audience for your UC responses are “general UC readers,” and your audience for the UCLA Arts supplemental essays are your department faculty. Behold: our 20 UC Personal Insight Questions examples. UCBerkeley2019, UC Berkeley ‘19 You must also answer 3 out of 7 additional questions. In statement application—including your answers to the personal insight questions—we statement looking for evidence of your intellectual curiosity and sample resume business analyst healthcare interest in personal development. And what does it look like when you effectively follow these UC essay tips? The University of California System personal insight questions. We’ve broken down each UC personal insight question and shared high-quality essay examples in our comprehensive How to Write Great UC Essays guide. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? The theory of why certain notes are flat or sharp–the underpinnings of musical theory– communicate the intended message of the composers, and may be even more important than simply “just playing” the piano.”. When applying to Berkeley, you will be asked what major you are interested in. Wondering how to successfully write UC essays? In other words, if the UC Personal Insight Question is this: 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. Let me repeat that again: Depth > Breadth. The UC Personal Insight Questions is your only opportunity to literally “speak” to the admissions committee about attributes that aren’t immediately clear in your overall application. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced 1. In this blog post, we’ll go over. That means this: Don’t do too much in one short essay. They are basically stories about YOU. Now if you’re looking for tips on how to answer those questions, keep reading the following. Here’s another UC Personal Insight Essay Example that is dripping with intellectual curiosity.