Table of Contents
What should you not do on a UC personal statement?
Avoid common mistakes in Your Personal Insight Essays:
- Talking about one campus: You’re talking to all UC campuses you apply to in your responses.
- Inappropriate use of humor.
- Creative writing (poems, clichés)
- Quotations: We want to know your thoughts & words, not someone else’s.
Do UC personal insight questions matter?
I enjoy taking the knowledge that I have learned from years of UC conferences and talking to other colleagues and advising students how to write effective essays and Personal Insight questions. No matter what UC you are applying to, the essays are often very important.
What should you not do on a UC personal insight question?
Your space is limited, so try not to use words you don’t need. Some examples of unnecessary words are “very,” “that” and “both.” Try to avoid too many “-ing” words. For example, “I was running” is better as “I ran.” “It is important to remember” should just be “Remember.”
Are personal insight questions always the same?
The UC Personal Insight Questions can be used to apply for all University of California schools. The questions for the 2021-2022 school year remain the same as the previous year.
Do UCs care about extracurriculars?
While academic achievement is the most important criterion the UCs consider, majority of the UCs also pay attention to applicant achievements outside of the classroom. Given how competitive the top UCs are, extracurricular activities are also a way for you to distinguish yourself from other highly qualified applicants.
What do UC’s look for?
UC also looks at the difficulty of the classes you took. They’re specifically looking for honors, AP, or IB courses since these are more difficult than regular-level classes. If your school offers these classes, you should take as many as you can without overloading yourself and still maintaining a high GPA.
Can you reuse UC personal statements?
Yes, you can. There may be new information from this last year that will create a better essay, but the point is you can certainly reuse the essays. They won’t care if you have the same essays. However, if you applied as a freshman and are now applying as a transfer, they will not see the freshman application.
How long should UC personal insight questions be?
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.
How do you answer personal insight UC?
The Do’s and Don’ts of Answering UC Personal Insight Questions
- Prepare in advance: DO!
- Choose questions based on what you think the reader will like: DON’T!
- Relate your past experiences to the person you are today: DO!
- Repeat the same stories: DON’T!
- Proofread your work and ask for edits: DO!