Strategies for Each of 8 New University of California Essays 2016-17

new uc essays

Quickly Find Ideas for Each of the
8 New Personal Insight Questions

 

I hope everyone applying to any of the University of California schools this fall got the big news: They have all new essay prompts for 2016-17!

Instead of writing two longer essays, incoming freshmen now are required to write four shorter essays—and have eight new prompts, called Personal Insight Questions, to choose from.

Since the big announcement this spring, I’ve written eight new posts on each of the new UC essays.

I’ve listed them all together here (below) in this post so you can find them easily. (more…)

UC Essay Prompt 2: Your Creative Side

uc essay prompt 2

University of California Essay Prompts for Fall 2017
(Ideas for Answering Personal Insight Question No. 2)

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. Describe how you express your creative side.

If this prompt jumped out when you first read through the eight essay prompts for the University of California application, good chance you have a creative side.

And you should seriously consider writing about it.

Even if this prompt didn’t initially appeal to you, consider it anyway.

It’s not just intended for aspiring artists! (more…)

NEW University of California Essay Prompts for Fall 2017!

First New University of California Essay Prompts
for their College Application in 10 Years!

The University of California just listed brand new college application essay prompts—for the first time in a decade!

In the past, incoming freshman wrote two core essays answering two prompts.

The two essays had to be a total of no more than 1,000 words.

The UC is now calling its new essay prompts, “Personal insight questions,” and students must choose four out of eight to answer.

And they are each supposed to be under 350 words. (So, total under 1,400 words.)

That’s a huge shift. (more…)

UC College Application Essay Instant Boot Camp

UPDATE: as of March 23, 2016 The University of California announced NEW essay prompts for 2016-17. Read about how to answer them HERE.

 

This post is now outdated. The information is no longer relevant!!

If you are working on your two college application essays for the University of California freshman application, I’ve put together a short list of my most helpful posts.

Prompt 1: Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations. 

How to Describe the World You Come From

Sample College App Essay for UC Prompt 1

Brainstorm the World You Come From (more…)

Sample College App Essays for “Describe the World You Come From”

UPDATE: as of March 23, 2016 The University of California announced NEW essay prompts for 2016-17. Read about how to answer them HERE.

This post is now outdated. The information is no longer relevant!!

 

Looking for your World to answer the University of California Prompt 1?

 

A high school English teacher contacted me this week asking if I had any sample essays for the University of California college application Prompt 1.

She was using my guides and Essay Hell blog posts to help teach her students how to write their college application essays.  (more…)

Personal Quality, Talent, Accomplishment…UC Prompt #2

UPDATE: as of March 23, 2016 The University of California announced NEW essay prompts for 2016-17. Read about how to answer them HERE.

This post is now outdated. The information is no longer relevant!!

  

College Admissions Essay:

How to Nail Prompt #2 for UC Essays

If you want to be a freshman or transfer student at one of the University of California schools, you will need to answer this question to write one of their two required personal statement essays, also known as Prompt #2:

“Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?”

In essence, they want you to write a personal statement.

A personal statement is an essay that shows the reader what makes you tick, what you care about, what sets you apart from the crowd.

Yes, it’s pretty wide open. Almost any topic can work—it’s all about what you have to say about it.

This entire blog has advice on how to write these.

But I’m going to map out a specific plan that should help you target this exact prompt. (more…)