ucla essay word limit

First-year requirements

• Subject requirement (A-G)
• GPA requirement
• Admission by exception
• English language proficiency
• UC graduation requirements

Additional information for

• California residents
• Out-of-state students
• Home-schooled students

Transfer requirements

• Understanding UC transfer
• Preparing to transfer
• UC transfer programs
• Transfer planning tools

International applicants

• Applying for admission
• English language proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS)
• Passports & visas
• Living accommodations
• Health care & insurance

AP & Exam credits

Applying as a first year

• Filling out the application
• Dates & deadlines

Personal insight questions

• How applications are reviewed
• After you apply

Applying as a transfer

Types of aid

• Grants & scholarships
• Jobs & work-study
• California DREAM Loan Program
• Middle Class Scholarship Program
• Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan
• Native American Opportunity Plan  
• Who can get financial aid
• How aid works
• Estimate your aid

Apply for financial aid

• Tuition & cost of attendance
• Glossary & resources
• Santa Barbara
• Campus program & support services
• Check majors
• Freshman admit data
• Transfer admit data
• Native American Opportunity Plan
• Apply for aid
• 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.

Keep in mind

• All questions are equal. All are given equal consideration in the application review process, which means there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.
• 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.  
• Use the additional comments field if there are issues you'd like to address that you didn't have the opportunity to discuss elsewhere on the application. This shouldn't be an essay, but rather a place to note unusual circumstances or anything that might be unclear in other parts of the application. 

Questions & guidance

Remember, the personal insight questions are just that—personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC. 

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? 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. 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? 3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Things to consider: If there is 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? 4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. 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 you are today? 5. 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? 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? 6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. 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?

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? 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? 8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? 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 chance. 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.

Writing tips

Start early..

Give yourself plenty of time for preparation, careful composition and revisions.

Write persuasively.

Making a list of accomplishments, activities, awards or work will lessen the impact of your words. Expand on a topic by using specific, concrete examples to support the points you want to make.

Use “I” statements.

Talk about yourself so that we can get to know your personality, talents, accomplishments and potential for success on a UC campus. Use “I” and “my” statements in your responses.

Proofread and edit.

Although you will not be evaluated on grammar, spelling or sentence structure, you should proofread your work and make sure your writing is clear. Grammatical and spelling errors can be distracting to the reader and get in the way of what you’re trying to communicate.

Solicit feedback.

Your answers should reflect your own ideas and be written by you alone, but others — family, teachers and friends can offer valuable suggestions. Ask advice of whomever you like, but do not plagiarize from sources in print or online and do not use anyone's words, published or unpublished, but your own.

Copy and paste.

Once you are satisfied with your answers, save them in plain text (ASCII) and paste them into the space provided in the application. Proofread once more to make sure no odd characters or line breaks have appeared.

This is one of many pieces of information we consider in reviewing your application. Your responses can only add value to the application. An admission decision will not be based on this section alone.

Need more help?

Download our worksheets:

• English [PDF]
• Spanish [PDF]

First-Year Requirements

In addition to your UC application, we take both your academic record and your personal experiences into consideration during the review process . At UCLA, we seek students who have excelled academically and gained valuable perspective from the personal experiences that have helped shape their lives.

Read on to find out more.

The Criteria We Consider

When reviewing an application, we implement a holistic review process, which includes looking at some of the following criteria:

• Achievement in high school or college coursework
• Personal qualities
• Likely contributions to the intellectual and cultural vitality of our campus
• Achievement in academic enrichment programs
• Other achievements in any field of intellectual or creative endeavor, including the performing arts, athletics, community service, etc.

Academic Preparation

You must complete 15 A-G courses with at least 11 courses finished prior to the beginning of your last year of high school. To be competitive in the UCLA admission process, applicants should present an academic profile much stronger than any minimum UC admission requirements.  See below for a listing of the A-G requirements:

• 2 years history/social science
• 4 years of college-preparatory English
• 3 years of mathematics (4 years recommended)
• 2 years of laboratory science (3 years recommended)
• 2 years of language other than English (3 years recommended)
• 1 year of visual and performing arts (if available)
• 1 year of college-preparatory elective

Keep in mind that there is no single academic path we expect all students to follow. However, competitive applicants earn high marks in the most rigorous curriculum available to them.   Each application for admission is reviewed within the context of courses available to that student. If a particular required subject is not available, we’ll consider your application without it.

Standardized Testing (SAT/ACT)

UCLA will not consider SAT or ACT scores for admission or scholarship purposes.

If you choose to submit test scores as part of your application, they may be used as an alternative method of fulfilling minimum requirements for eligibility or for course placement after you enroll.

UCLA’s ACT number: 0448 UCLA’s College Board (SAT) number: 4837

Personal Insight Questions

These personal questions are just that — personal. This is your chance to augment the information elsewhere in your application and give us more insight into you during the review process.  Our hope is to hear your true, authentic voice in your responses.   As a first-year applicant, you may respond to four of eight questions. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words. Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you. You should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Because we receive more applicants than we have room to accept, admitted students usually have academic achievements far higher than the minimum requirements. So, to be “competitive” is to be among the strongest achieving students to apply.

We look for students who take advantage of the academic opportunities available to them. If you have advanced courses, we encourage you to take advantage of them. The University of California adds extra weight to grades received in UC-certified honors, AP, IB and transferable college courses.

We do not require or accept letters of recommendation in our process and we do not collect transcripts at the point of application . However, once admitted, students are required to submit official transcripts f rom any high school or college they have attended . Some professional schools may request a letter of recommendation as part of their supplemental application process.

We do not offer admission interviews. Applicants are considered for admission based upon the information they submit in the UC application . However, some majors in our  specialty schools require a supplemental application as part of their admission process. Supplemental applications may involve an audition, portfolio submission and/or letters of recommendation. Find out more from the supplemental applications page.

Supplemental Applications

Of course, a strong academic performance combined with sustained, meaningful involvement in extracurricular activities is the ideal. But if it comes down to a choice between excelling in your coursework or your extracurricular activities, choose your academics.

UCLA will honor full IGETC certification from a first-year student if the requirements were completed before entering UC. Partial IGETC, however, will not be accepted from entering first-years at any UC campus and IGETC is not recommended for applicants to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

• UCLA’s Informed Placement Process (IPP)

The ability to read carefully, analyze what you’ve read, and write effective essays is an essential part of thriving at UC. All students entering UCLA as freshmen must fulfill the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR), either by demonstrating proficiency through qualifying test scores, UC-transferable college English composition courses, or by completing UCLA’s Informed Placement Process (IPP, formerly AWPE). To learn more about ELWR, please click here .

UCLA’s Informed Placement Process (IPP, formerly AWPE) is conducted online and students are allowed up to 3 hours to complete it. Students will read a prose passage of approximately 1000 words that is of the level of difficulty encountered in beginning university courses; it may be drawn from any of a number of disciplines. After reading the passage, students write a thesis-driven essay in which they are typically asked to explain a central aspect of the passage and respond in a way that supports, challenges, or modifies the author’s argument. 

Students will then respond to a survey about their experiences with academic writing, read about and watch a short video about UCLA’s first-year writing courses, and then indicate their preference of which course they’d like to begin with to meet their writing requirement(s). This preference is taken into consideration in the placement process, but the ultimate decision of which course a student will start with is made by UCLA Writing Programs faculty.

Who needs to complete UCLA’s Informed Placement Process (IPP)?

You need to complete the IPP (formerly AWPE) if you entered UCLA as a First-Year student  (no matter where you come from) and you haven’t satisfied the Entry-Level Writing Requirement in one of the following ways:

• Score 680 or higher on the Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing section of the SAT (The digital SAT Reading and Writing section score has not been approved to satisfy ELWR.)
• Achieve a score of 30 or better on the ACT, English Language Arts or 63 or better on the ACT, English Plus Reading. The English Language Arts score represents your overall performance on the English, Reading, and Writing sections of the exam.
• Score 3 or better on the AP English Language or Literature Examination or the AP Seminar examination or the AP Research examination
• The IB Exam must be a Language A or A1 (native) exam in English to satisfy the ELWR. Language A2/B (2nd native/non-native) exams do not satisfy the ELWR. Click here to learn more.
• Complete a UC transferable college course in English composition with a grade of C or better before enrolling at UCLA . Once you have enrolled at UCLA, you must complete your ELWR writing requirement by taking UCLA composition courses only .

Continuing students who have not yet done the IPP, have not already satisfied the ELWR, and have not been placed into a writing class must also complete the IPP.

Questions? Contact the Writing Programs Office .

What is the IPP like?

The IPP (formerly AWPE) is conducted online and students are allowed up to 3 hours to complete it. Students will read a prose passage of approximately 1000 words that is of the level of difficulty encountered in beginning university courses; it may be drawn from any of a number of disciplines. After reading the passage, students write a thesis-driven essay in which they are typically asked to explain a central aspect of the passage and respond in a way that supports, challenges, or modifies the author’s argument. Students will then respond to a survey about their experiences with academic writing, read about and watch a short video about our first-year writing courses, and then indicate their preference of which course they’d like to begin with for meeting their writing requirement. This preference is taken into consideration in the placement process, but the ultimate decision of which course students will start with is made by UCLA Writing Programs faculty.

To see a sample essay prompt from several years ago, click here .

How is the IPP evaluated?

Each IPP essay response is evaluated by at least one faculty reader who measures it against a rubric to determine a recommended first-year writing course for the student writer. If the faculty reader’s placement matches the student’s course preference, then that student is placed in their preferred course. If the faculty reader determines a different placement is appropriate from what the student preferred, then a second faculty reader will read the student’s IPP essay response and determine which first-year writing course best suits the student’s abilities.

When should I complete the IPP?

If you are an incoming freshman and have not met the ELWR requirement in one of the ways listed under “Who needs to complete UCLA’s Informed Placement Process (IPP)?” then you must complete the IPP (formerly AWPE) before attending your New Student Orientation session. Otherwise, you will not be able to enroll in an English Composition course for the fall quarter. Keep in mind that you must complete the required English Composition course or sequence of courses with a grade of C or better as early as possible during your first year in residence. Further, if you are required to take more than one course, you may not take them concurrently—you must pass each course with a C or better before taking the next one. Learn more about UCLA’s undergraduate writing requirements here .

Upcoming IPP Dates and Times

FOR First-Year Students Entering in Fall 2024 & Continuing Students

• NOTE: registration will close Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 at 12pm

Summer 2024

• NOTE: registration will close Thursday, June 13th, 2024 at 5pm
• NOTE: registration will close Monday, July 1st, 2024 at 5pm
• NOTE:  registration will close Tuesday, July 9th, 2024 at 5pm
• NOTE:  registration will close Thursday, July 25th, 2024 at 5pm
• NOTE:  registration will close Friday, August 9th, 2024 at 5pm

How much does the IPP cost?

You will be charged $167 unless your UC application fee has been waived. You will receive the charge on your BruinBill after you complete the IPP. We only charge the fee if you show up to complete the IPP and submit an essay response.

Who can I contact if I have questions?

• If you have questions about registering for or completing the IPP, contact  wpfirstyearplacement@humnet. ucla.edu .
• If you have questions about your placement result, please know that the placement result is final unless you have  met the ELWR in some other way . You must submit your qualifying scores or final college transcript to the UCLA Office of Admissions in order to fulfill the ELWR.  If you continue to feel that you were placed in the wrong course and would like to request a review of your placement, please  complete our appeal questionnaire before September 6, 2024. 

How can I request a testing accommodation?

If you need testing accommodations, there are two ways to request accommodations. 1) You can register with UCLA’s Center for Accessible Education (CAE). Go to this link to learn how to apply for an accommodation. NOTE: CAE takes up to 4 weeks to review requests, so please submit your registration to CAE in a timely manner; 2) If you had an IEP in high school, please email us at [email protected] at least 2 weeks before the date you will complete the IPP. Let us know the accommodations you need and attach a copy of the IEP you had in high school. 

IPP Registration

How do i register for the ipp.

If you intend to complete the IPP (formerly AWPE), register here .

If you need special accommodations because of a documented disability, please see the section titled “How can I request a testing accommodation?”

IPP Results

How and when will i be notified of my results.

Placement results are usually available approximately two to three weeks after the IPP administration date.

You will find out your placement by looking at your DARS screen under the “Entry Level Writing/ESL Requirement.”

What does my writing placement mean?

If you placed into English Composition 1 , click here to learn more about your placement. If you placed into English Composition 2 , click here to learn more about your placement.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Archived Spotlight Posts
• Student Testimonials
• Open Positions
• Program Leadership
• Undergraduate Writing Center
• Undergraduate Writing Requirements
• Professional Writing Minor
• Undergraduate Courses
• Undergraduate Course Learning Objectives
• Undergraduate Writing Awards
• Non-UCLA International Students
• Enrollment for Spring 2024 in English Comp 3/3D for Cluster Students
• English Language Requirements & Resources for International Graduate Students
• TA Training
• Graduate Certificate in Writing Pedagogy
• Graduate Writing Center
• Academic Year ESL
• Summer ESL Program
• English as a Second Language Placement Exam (ESLPE)
• TOP Exam Schedule & Registration
• Campus Partners
• Community-Engaged Writing Courses
• Writing Summer Institute for High School Students
• Get Involved

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write the University of California Essays 2024-2025

The University of California (UC) school system is the most prestigious state university system in the United States and includes nine undergraduate universities: UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Merced, and UC Irvine.

The University of California system has its own application portal, as well as its own deadline of November 30th—a full month before the Common Application is due. All nine universities use one application, so it is easy to apply to multiple UCs at the same time. 

The application requires you to answer four of eight personal insight questions, with a 350-word limit on each prompt. This may seem daunting at first, but we provide this guide to make the prompts more approachable and to help you effectively tackle them! 

University of California Application Essay Prompts

Note: There is only one application for all the UC schools, so your responses will be sent to every University of California school that you apply to. You should avoid making essays school-specific (unless you are applying to only one school).

You might want to start by deciding which four of the eight prompts you plan on answering. The eight prompts are:

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.

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., 3. what would you say is your greatest talent or skill how have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time, 4. describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced., 5. 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, 6. think about an academic subject that inspires you. describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom., 7. what have you done to make your school or your community a better place, 8. 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.

As you begin selecting prompts, keep the purpose of college essays at the forefront of your mind. College essays are the place to humanize yourself and transform your test scores, GPA, and extracurriculars into a living, breathing human with values, ambitions, and a backstory. If a specific prompt will allow you to show a part of who you are that is not showcased in the rest of your application, start there. 

If nothing immediately jumps out at you, try dividing the prompts into three categories: “definites,” “possibilities,” and “avoids at all costs.” “Definites” will be prompts that quickly spark up a specific idea in you. “Possibilities” might elicit a few loose concepts, anecdotes, or structures. And “avoids” are prompts where you honestly cannot see yourself writing a convincing essay. Next, take your “definites” and “possibilities” and jot down your initial thoughts about them. Finally, look at all of your ideas together and decide which combination would produce the most well-rounded essay profile that shows who you are as an individual.

Of course, this is just one way to approach choosing prompts if you are stuck. Some students might prefer writing out a list of their values, identifying the most important ones in their life, then figuring out how to showcase those through the prompts. Other students select prompts based on what they are excited by or through freewriting on every prompt first. Do not feel constrained by any one method. Just remember:

• Do not rush into prompts at first glance (though trial writing can be very valuable!).
• Make sure that you consider potential ideas for many prompts before making final decisions, and ultimately write about the one with the most substance.
• The prompts you select should allow you to highlight what is most important to you.

Check out our video to learn more about how to write the UC essays!

The 8 UC Personal Insight Questions

“Leadership Experience” is often a subheading on student resumes, but that is not what admissions officers are asking about here. They are asking for you to tell them a specific story of a time when your leadership truly mattered. This could include discussing the policies you enacted as president of a school club or the social ties you helped establish as captain of a sports team, but this prompt also gives you the freedom to go past that.

Leaders are individuals with strong values, who mentor, inspire, correct, and assist those around them. If you don’t feel like you’ve ever been a leader, consider the following questions:

• Have you ever mentored anyone? Is there anyone younger than you who would not be the person they are today without you?
• Have you ever taken the initiative? When and why did it matter?
• Have you ever been fundamental to positive change in the world—whether it be on the small scale of positively impacting a family member’s life or on the large scale of trying to change the status of specific communities/identities in this world?
• Have you ever stood up for what’s right or what you believe in?

Leadership is a concept that can be stretched, bent, and played with, but at the end of the day, the central theme of your essay must be leadership. Keeping this in mind, after your first draft, it can be helpful to identify the definition of leadership that you are working with, to keep your essay cohesive. This definition doesn’t need to appear within the essay (though, if you take on a more reflective structure, it might). Some examples of this include “being a positive role model as leadership,” “encouraging others to take risks as leadership,” and “embracing my identities as leadership.”

Here are some examples of how a leadership essay might look:

• You’ve always loved learning and challenging yourself, but when you got to high school it was clear that only a certain type of student was recommended to take AP classes and you didn’t fit into that type. You presented a strong case to the school counselors that you were just as prepared for AP classes as anyone else, enrolled in your desired classes, and excelled. Since then, AP classes have become more diversified at your school and there has even been a new inclusion training introduced for your district’s school counselors. 
• When you were working as a camp counselor, the art teacher brought you two of your campers who were refusing to get along. To mediate the conflict, you spent long hours before bed talking to them individually, learning about their personal lives and family situation. By understanding where each camper came from, you were better equipped to help them reach a compromise and became a role model for both campers.
• As a member of your school’s Chinese organization, you were driven by your ethnic heritage to devote your lunch breaks to ensuring the smooth presentation of the Chinese culture show. You coordinated the performers, prepared refreshments, and collected tickets. You got through a great performance, even though a performer didn’t show and some of the food was delivered late. You weren’t on the leadership board or anything, but exhibited serious leadership, as both nights of the culture show sold out and hundreds of both Chinese and non-Chinese people were able to come together and celebrate your culture.

Like the last prompt, this prompt asks about a specific topic—creativity—but gives you wiggle room to expand your definition of that topic. By defining creativity as problem-solving, novel thinking, and artistic expression, this prompt basically says “get creative in how you define creativity!” 

Additionally, this broad conception of creativity lets you choose if you want to write about your personal life or your academic life. A robotics student could write about their love of baking on the weekends or their quick thinking during a technical interview. A dance student could write about their love of adapting choreography from famous ballets or their innovative solution to their dance team’s lack of funds for their showcase. You have space to do what you want!

That said, because this prompt is so open, it is important to establish a focus early on. Try thinking about what is missing from your application. If you are worried that your application makes you seem hyper-academic, use this prompt to show how you have fun. If you are worried that you might be appearing like one of those students who just gets good grades because they have a good memory, use this prompt to show off your problem-solving skills.

Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to describe any skill in creative pursuits as you answer this prompt. The prompt asks you how you express your “creative side,” alluding to creative instinct, not creative talent. You could write about how you use painting to let out your emotions—but your paintings aren’t very good. You could write about dancing in the shower to get excited for your day—but one time you slipped and fell and hurt your elbow. Experiences like these could make for a great reflective essay, where you explore the human drive towards creative expression and your acceptance that you personally don’t have to be creatively inclined to let out creative energy.

Some examples:

• A math student writing about a time they devised a non-textbook method to proving theorems 
• A creative writer describing how they close-read the ups-and-downs of classical music as an attempt to combat writers’ block and think of emotional trajectories for new stories
• An engineering student writing about cooking as a creative release where numbers don’t matter and intuition supersedes reason
• A psychology student writing about the limitations of quantitative data and describing a future approach to psychology that merges humanism and empiricism.

This is the kind of prompt where an answer either pops into your head or it doesn’t. The good news is that you can write a convincing essay either way. We all have great talents and skills—you just might have to dig a bit to identify the name of the talent/skill and figure out how to best describe it.

Some students have more obvious talents and skills than others. For example, if you are intending to be a college athlete, it makes sense to see your skill at your sport as your greatest talent or skill. Similarly, if you are being accepted into a highly-selective fine arts program, painting might feel like your greatest talent. These are completely reasonable to write about because, while obvious, they are also authentic! 

The key to writing a convincing essay about an obvious skill is to use that skill to explore your personality, values, motivations, and ambitions. Start by considering what first drew you to your specialization. Was there a specific person? Something your life was missing that painting, hockey, or film satisfied? Were you brought up playing your sport or doing your craft because your parents wanted you to and you had to learn to love it? Or choose to love it? What was that process like? What do these experiences say about you? Next, consider how your relationship with your talent has evolved. Have you doubted your devotion at times? Have you wondered if you are good enough? Why do you keep going? On the other hand, is your talent your solace? The stable element in your life? Why do you need that?

The key is to elucidate why this activity is worth putting all your time into, and how your personality strengths are exhibited through your relationship to the activity. 

Do not be put off by this prompt if you have not won any big awards or shown immense talent in something specific. All the prompt asks for is what you think is your greatest talent or skill. Some avenues of consideration for other students include:

• Think about aspects of your personality that might be considered a talent or skill. This might include being a peacemaker, being able to make people laugh during hard times, or having organization skills.
• Think about unique skills that you have developed through unique situations. These would be things like being really good at reading out loud because you spend summers with your grandfather who can no longer read, knowing traffic patterns because you volunteer as a crossing guard at the elementary school across the street that starts 45 minutes before the high school, or making really good pierogi because your babysitter as a child was Polish.
• Think about lessons you have learned through life experiences. A military baby might have a great skill for making new friends at new schools, a child of divorce might reflect on their ability to establish boundaries in what they are willing to communicate about with different people, and a student who has had to have multiple jobs in high school might be talented at multitasking and scheduling. 

Make sure to also address how you have developed and demonstrated your selected talent. Do you put in small amounts of practice every day, or strenuous hours for a couple of short periods each year? Did a specific period of your life lead to the development of your talent or are you still developing it daily? 

The purpose of college essays is to show your values and personality to admissions officers, which often includes exploring your past and how it informs your present and future. With a bit of creativity in how you define a “talent or skill,” this prompt can provide a great avenue for that exploration. 

This prompt offers you two potential paths—discussing an educational opportunity or barrier. It is important that you limit yourself to one of these paths of exploration to keep your essay focused and cohesive. 

Starting with the first option, you should think of an educational opportunity as anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for life and your career. Some examples could include:

• participation in an honors program
• enrollment in an academy geared toward your future profession
• a particularly enlightening conversation with a professional or teacher
• joining a cultural- or interest-based student coalition
• plenty of other opportunities

The phrasing “taken advantage of” implies the admissions committee’s desire for students who take the initiative. Admissions officers are more interested in students who sought out opportunities and who fought to engage with opportunities than students who were handed things. For example, a student who joined a career-advancement afterschool program in middle school could write about why they were initially interested in the program—perhaps they were struggling in a specific subject and didn’t want to fall behind because they had their sights set on getting into National Junior Honor Society, or their friend mentioned that the program facilitated internship opportunities and they thought they wanted to explore therapy as a potential career path.

On the other hand, if an opportunity was handed to you through family connections or a fortuitous introduction, explore what you did with that opportunity. For example, if a family member introduced you to an important producer because they knew you were interested in film, you could write about the notes you took during that meeting and how you have revisited the producer’s advice and used it since the meeting to find cheap equipment rentals and practice your craft.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you have faced, consider the personal characteristics and skills you called upon to overcome the challenge. How did the process of overcoming your educational barrier shape you as a person? What did you learn about yourself or the world? An added plus would be talking about passing it forward and helping those in your purview obtain the knowledge you did from your experiences.

Some examples of educational barriers could include:

• limited access to resources, materials, technology, or classes
• lacking educational role models
• struggles with deciding on a passion or career path
• financial struggles

One example of an interesting essay about educational barriers:

As a student at a school that did not offer any honors classes, you enrolled in online lectures to learn the subject you were passionate about — Human Geography. Afterward, you spoke to your school administrators about high-achieving students needing higher-level courses, and they agreed to talk to the local community college to start a pipeline for students like you.

Either way that you take this prompt, it can be used to position yourself as motivated and driven—exactly the type of student admissions officers are looking for!

This prompt is three-pronged. You must 1) identify a challenge 2) describe the steps you have taken to overcome the challenge and 3) connect the challenge to your academic achievement.

When approaching this prompt, it is best to consider these first and third aspects together so that you identify a challenge that connects to your academic life. If you simply pick any challenge you have experienced, when you get to the third part of the prompt, you may have to stretch your essay in ways that are unconvincing or feel inauthentic.

That said, remember that “academic achievement” reaches far beyond grades and exams. It can include things like:

• Deciding your career goals
• Balancing homework, jobs, and social/familial relationships
• Having enough time to devote to self-care
• Figuring out how you study/learn best
• Feeling comfortable asking for help when you need it

You should begin brainstorming challenges and hardships that you have experienced and overcome. These could include financial hardships, familial circumstances, personal illness, or learning disabilities. Challenges could also be less structural—things like feeling like you are living in a sibling’s shadow, struggles with body image, or insecurity. While it is important that your challenge was significant, it matters much more that you discuss your challenge with thoughtful reflection and maturity.

Some ways to take this prompt include:

• Writing about how overcoming a challenge taught you a skill that led to academic success — for example, a high-achieving student who struggles with anxiety was forced to take time off from school after an anxiety attack and learned the importance of giving oneself a break
• Writing about a challenge that temporarily hindered your academic success and reflecting on it — for example, a student who experienced a death in the family could have had a semester where they almost failed English because reading led to negative thought spirals instead of plot retention
• Writing about how a challenge humbled you and gave you a new perspective on your academics — for example, a student with a part-time job who helps support her family missed a shift because she was studying for a test and realized that she needed to ask her teachers for help and explain her home situation

As you describe the steps you have taken to overcome your selected challenge, you will want to include both tangible and intangible steps. This means that you will need to discuss your emotions, growth, and development, as well as what you learned through overcoming the challenge. Was your challenge easy to overcome or did it take a few tries? Do you feel you have fully overcome your challenge or is it a work in progress? If you have fully overcome the challenge, what do you do differently now? Or do you just see things differently now? If you were to experience the same challenge again, what would you have learned from before?

Here are some detailed examples:

• Your parents underwent a bitter, drawn-out divorce that deeply scarred you and your siblings, especially your little brother who was attending elementary school at the time. He was constantly distraught and melancholy and seemed to be falling further and further behind in his schoolwork. You took care of him, but at the cost of your grades plummeting. However, through this trial, you committed yourself to protecting your family at all costs. You focused on computer science in high school, hoping to major in it and save up enough money for his college tuition by the time he applies. Through this mission, your resolve strengthened and reflected in your more efficient and excellent performance in class later on.
• Your race was the most significant challenge you faced growing up. In school, teachers did not value your opinion nor did they believe in you, as evidenced by their preferential treatment of students of other races. To fight back against this discrimination, you talked to other students of the same race and established an association, pooling together resources and providing a supportive network of people to others in need of counseling regarding this issue.

The first step for approaching this prompt is fun and easy—think about an academic subject that inspires you. This part of the essay is about emotional resonance, so go with your gut and don’t overthink it. What is your favorite subject? What subject do you engage with in the media in your free time? What subject seeps into your conversations with friends and family on the weekends?

Keep in mind that high school subjects are often rather limited. The span of “academic subjects” at the university level is much less limited. Some examples of academic subjects include eighteenth-century literature, political diplomacy, astronomy, Italian film and television, botany, Jewish culture and history, mobile robotics, musical theater, race and class in urban environments, gender and sexuality, and much more.

Once you’ve decided what subject you are most interested in and inspired by, think about a tangible example of how you have furthered your interest in the subject. Some common ways students further their interests include:

• Reading about your interest
• Engaging with media (television, film, social media) about your interest
• Volunteering with organizations related to your interest
• Founding organizations related to your interest
• Reaching out to professionals with your academic interest
• Using your interest in interdisciplinary ways
• Research in your field of interest
• Internships in your field of interest

While you should include these kinds of tangible examples, do not forget to explain how your love for the subject drives the work you do, because, with an essay like this, the why can easily get lost in describing the what . Admissions officers need both.

A few examples:

• You found your US government class fascinatingly complex, so you decided to campaign for a Congressional candidate who was challenging the incumbent in your district. You canvassed in your local community, worked at the campaign headquarters, and gathered voter data whilst performing various administrative duties. Though the work was difficult, you enjoyed a sense of fulfillment that came from being part of history.
• Last year you fell in love with the play Suddenly Last Summer and decided to see what career paths were available for dramatic writing. You reached out to the contact on your local theater’s website, were invited to start attending their guest lecturer series, and introduced yourself to a lecturer one week who ended up helping you score a spot in a Young Dramatic Writers group downtown.
• The regenerative power of cells amazed you, so you decided to take AP Biology to learn more. Eventually, you mustered up the courage to email a cohort of biology professors at your local university. One professor responded, and agreed to let you assist his research for the next few months on the microorganism C. Elegans.
• You continued to develop apps and games even after AP Computer Science concluded for the year. Eventually, you became good enough to land an internship at a local startup due to your self-taught knowledge of various programming languages.

With regards to structure, you might try thinking about this essay in a past/present/future manner where you consider your past engagement with your interest and how it will affect your future at a UC school or as an adult in society. This essay could also become an anecdotal/narrative essay that centers around the story of you discovering your academic interest, or a reflective essay that dives deep into the details of why you are drawn to your particular academic subject.

Whatever way you take it, try to make your essay unique—either through your subject matter, your structure, or your writing style!

College essay prompts often engage with the word “community.” As an essay writer, it is important to recognize that your community can be as large, small, formal, or informal as you want it to be. Your school is obviously a community you belong to, but your local grocery store, the nearby pet adoption center you volunteer at, your apartment building, or an internet group can also be communities. Even larger social groups that you are a part of, like your country or your ethnicity, can be a community. 

The important part of your response here is not the community you identify with but rather the way you describe your role in that community. What do you bring to your community that is special? What would be missing without you?

Some responses could include describing how you serve as a role model in your community, how you advocate for change in your community, how you are a support system for other community members, or how you correct the community when it is veering away from its values and principles.

Here are some fleshed-out examples of how this essay could take shape, using the earlier referenced communities:

• A student writes about the local grocery store in his neighborhood. Each Sunday, he picks up his family’s groceries and then goes to the pharmacy in the back to get his grandmother’s medication. The pharmacist was a close friend of his grandmother’s when she was young, so the student routinely gives the pharmacist a detailed update about his grandmother’s life. The student recognizes the value in his serving as a link to connect these two individuals who, due to aging, cannot be together physically.
• An animal-loving student volunteers one Saturday each month at the pet adoption center in their city’s downtown district. They have always been an extremely compassionate person and view the young kittens as a community that deserves to be cared for. This caring instinct also contributes to their interactions with their peers and their desire to make large-scale positive social change in the world.

Your response to this prompt will be convincing if you discuss your underlying motives for the service you have done, and in turn, demonstrate the positive influence you have made. That said, do not be afraid to talk about your actions even if they did not produce a sweeping change; as long as the effort was genuine, change is change, no matter the scale. This essay is more about values and reflection than it is about the effects of your efforts.

Lastly, if you are discussing a specific service you did for your community, you might want to touch on what you learned through your service action or initiative, and how you will continue to learn in the future. Here are a few examples:

• Passionate about classical music, you created a club that taught classical and instrumental music at local elementary schools. You knew that the kids did not have access to such resources, so you wanted to broaden their exposure as a high school senior had done for you when you were in middle school. You encouraged these elementary schoolers to fiddle with the instruments and lobbied for a music program to be implemented at the school. Whether the proposal gets approved or not, the kids have now known something they might never have known otherwise.
• Working at your local library was mundane at times, but in the long run, you realized that you were facilitating the exchange of knowledge and protecting the intellectual property of eminent scholars. Over time, you found ways to liven up the spirit of the library by leading arts and crafts time and booking puppet shows for little kids whose parents were still at work. The deep relationships you forged with the kids eventually blossomed into a bond of mentorship and mutual respect.

Be authentic and humble in your response to this essay! Make sure it feels like you made your community a better place because community is a value of yours, not just so that you could write about it in a college essay.

This is the most open-ended any question can get. You have the freedom to write about anything you want! That said, make sure that, no matter what you do with this prompt, your focus can be summarized into two sentences that describe the uniqueness of your candidacy.

The process we recommend for responding to open-ended prompts with clarity involves the following steps:

1. On a blank piece of paper, jot down any and every idea — feelings, phrases, and keywords — that pop into your head after reading this prompt. Why are you unique?

2. Narrow your ideas down to one topic. The two examples we will use are a student writing about how her habit of pausing at least five seconds before she responds to someone else’s opinion is emblematic of her thoughtfulness and a student whose interest in researching the history of colonialism in the Caribbean is emblematic of their commitment to justice.

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 sentences will not be in your final product, but will help you to maintain a focus. For our examples, this would be something like “Natalie’s habit of gathering her thoughts before responding to other people’s opinions allows her to avoid undesired complications and miscommunications in her social interactions. This has not only helped her maintain strong relationships with all the staff members of the clubs she leads, but will also help her navigate the social environments that she will face in the professional world.” A summary for the student writing about their interest in the history of colonialism could be “Jonathan has always been highly compassionate and sympathetic by nature. When they found out about the historical injustices of colonialism in the Caribbean through the book The Black Jacobins , they realized that compassion is what is missing from politics. Now, they are inspired to pursue a political science degree to ultimately have a political career guided by compassion.”

5. Finally, write an essay dedicated to constructing the image you devised in step 4. This can be achieved through a number of different structures! For example, Natalie could use an anecdote of a time when she spoke too soon and caused someone else pain, then could reflect on how she learned the lesson to take at least five seconds before responding and how that decision has affected her life. Jonathan could create an image of the future where they are enacting local policies based on compassion. It is important to keep in mind that you do not want to be repetitive, but you must stay on topic so that admissions officers do not get distracted and forget the image that you are attempting to convey.

As exemplified by the examples we provided, a good way to approach this prompt is to think of a quality, value, or personality trait of yours that is fundamental to who you are and appealing to admissions officers, then connect it to a specific activity, habit, pet peeve, anecdote, or another tangible example that you can use to ground your essay in reality. Use the tangible to describe the abstract, and convince admissions officers that you would be a valuable asset to their UC school!

Where to Get Your UC Essays Edited

With hundreds of thousands of applicants each year, many receiving top scores and grades, getting into top UC schools is no small feat. This is why excelling in the personal-insight questions is key to presenting yourself as a worthwhile candidate. Answering these prompts can be difficult, but ultimately very rewarding, and CollegeVine is committed to helping you along that journey. Check out these UC essay examples for more writing inspiration.

If you want to get your essays edited, we also have free peer essay review , where you can get feedback from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by editing other students’ essays.

You can also receive expert essay review by advisors who have helped students get into their dream schools. You can book a review with an expert to receive notes on your topic, grammar, and essay structure to make your essay stand out to admissions officers. Haven’t started writing your essay yet? Advisors on CollegeVine also offer  expert college counseling packages . You can purchase a package to get one-on-one guidance on any aspect of the college application process, including brainstorming and writing essays.

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October 26, 2023

Tips for Answering the University of California System Personal Insight Questions [2023 – 2024]

The University of California System consists of ten schools on separate campuses – commonly known as the UCs – that all use the same application: UC Berkeley (Cal), UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles (UCLA), UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Francisco, and UC San Diego. (Note, however, that UC San Francisco does not offer undergraduate education.) You will use the same responses for all the campuses within this system to which you choose to apply. Take a look at what each campus has to offer, including academic programs, clubs, activities, location, internships, intramural options, career services, research opportunities, and professors. Then consider how you might showcase your fit. 

UC admissions asks you to write several short essays to provide insight into who you are on a more personal level and reveal how you might contribute to the school to which you are applying. You must respond to four of the UC’s eight insight questions, and each of your responses is limited to 350 words. Read through the prompts, and choose the four that resonate most with your life and give you the best opportunity to discuss your unique experiences. Some of the questions overlap to some degree with respect to the topics they cover,. You want to select the ones that allow you to demonstrate specific attributes. No single question is better to answer than any other; it’s just a matter of which questions are better matches for you and your candidacy. Consider the combination of prompts that will allow you to communicate different aspects of your identity, character, and values. 

UC Personal Insight Question #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. 

This could be an intimidating prompt if you approach it too broadly. Instead, think about a specific example of your leadership in action. Consider instances in which you can trace a tangible positive outcome back to a specific conflict resolution, action, decision, negotiation, or collaboration. This effort could have been within your family, school, community, workplace, peer group, religious organization, athletic/academic team, or something else along these lines. What did you learn about leadership from the experience? What did you learn about yourself as a leader? How did the experience change your perspective and the way you interact with others? Make sure you address all of these questions and the additional implied question: what kind of leader might you be in the UC community? 

  UC Personal Insight 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. Describe how you express your creative side.

This prompt provides an opportunity to express your creative passion and thought process. Do you have a particularly creative skill? Do you think about issues in inventive ways? Was there an issue or problem you approached in an imaginative or novel manner? Remember that this can be something related to school or otherwise. Select a specific example and demonstrate your enthusiasm. What was the outcome? How did your creativity, problem solving, innovative thinking, or artistic ability affect others? How does your creativity influence the way you learn, how you interact with others, your lifestyle, or your intended area of study and/or career? How does the example you discuss reflect something significant about you? And why is that important? How might you embrace your creativity while you are studying at a UC school? 

UC Personal Insight Question #3

What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

This prompt allows you to detail something you have done for an extended time and through which you can demonstrate growth and deeper understanding. It might be something that came naturally to you or something you worked hard to develop over time. Be careful to not let your response to this prompt overlap with what you discussed for question #2 regarding creativity; you want to share something with the admissions committee here that represents a different facet of your abilities. This could be anything from playing a particular instrument to excelling at a specific sport or engaging in any other activity that demonstrates development through an extensive process. What initially sparked your interest? Why is this meaningful to you? How did you explore and develop this talent or skill? Did you have to sacrifice anything to pursue it? What have been the challenges and rewards along the way? What have you learned about yourself in the process? How might you continue to nurture/engage this talent or skill in the future, possibly even on campus?

UC Personal Insight Question #4

Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

In broad strokes, this question is about how you make things happen regardless of the cards you are dealt. It also speaks to your resilience and ability to adapt to different circumstances. Your response to this prompt really gets at the question of how you use what you have to succeed, whether you are fortunate enough to have had many educational opportunities or have had to work to overcome great challenges. What have you achieved and learned about yourself in the process? If you embraced an opportunity to experience something new (e.g., culture, activity, volunteer experience, academic enrichment opportunity), how did the experience change the way you look at the world? How did it influence how you think about yourself? If you overcame a significant challenge (e.g., learning disability, difficult family situation/relationship, financial challenges, particular hardship), what motivated you to do more? What steps did you take to improve the situation? How did overcoming this barrier make you stronger? How did it change your perspective or attitude? Whether you are addressing an opportunity or barrier, how does what you shared inspire you for the future?

UC Personal Insight Question #5

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?

This question is similar to the second part of question #4 about barriers you faced. This is the place to reveal why your extracurricular involvement, test scores, or grades might not be at as high a level as those of other applicants – just make sure you do not come off as making excuses. Your most significant challenge could relate to a personal loss, a disability, conflicts within your community or family, or having to come to terms with a nonconventional identity. It is also possible that you are still working to overcome the issue. The important thing is to identify the challenge, discuss what you have done to try to overcome it, and then explain its impact on your academic achievement. If you select this prompt, your story is likely to be very personal. You don’t have to shy away from this one, but you will need to give it a great deal of thought so you can effectively convey the significance of your chosen topic. It is also important to consider how the lessons you have learned through this process have prepared you for academic success in college. 

UC Personal Insight Question #6

Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. 

This prompt asks you to convey your passion and enthusiasm for a specific academic subject. You will need to reveal not only the topic you find interesting but also how you explore your interests and engage with learning on various levels and in different environments. Think about what you have done to dive deeper into the subject, such as volunteer activities, internships, research, clubs, or advanced classes. What makes this subject so exciting for you? How has the knowledge you acquired influenced your perception of the world? What have you learned about yourself in your pursuit of the subject? This essay is a great place to discuss your potential major or other areas you hope to study in college, as well. If applicable, you could also draw a connection to your future career. As the admissions committee reads your response, they will be thinking about how you might explore this and other topics at their school. 

UC Personal Insight Question #7

What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? 

This question is pretty straightforward. It addresses how you, as an individual, have a positive impact on the people around you. Identify something you did that was helpful to others. Many applicants discuss a specific volunteer experience. Others discuss a team or group. Identify your role within the school, group, or community. What was the issue/problem/deficiency/need? How did you help address it? Why was this important to you? How do you know you had a positive effect? What was your motivation to help? Did you work with others or alone? What did you learn about yourself in the process? Is this something you might continue while in college? 

UC Personal Insight Question #8

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?

Yes, this is a wide open question! Before you decide how you want to respond, make a list of the characteristics you feel make you an outstanding fit with the University of California System. Then look over your application and the other essay questions you have already responded to and see whether you think there is anything missing. This is your opportunity to tell the admissions committee anything you feel is significant that you were not able to discuss within the context of the other prompts. Although part of the advice UC admissions gives for this essay is to not “be afraid to brag a little,” this prompt is not the only part of the application in which you can highlight your clearest strengths. You could skip this essay and still represent yourself and your talents effectively by choosing four of the other seven prompts. If you didn’t already answer prompt #3 and want to close on a strong note, this essay could allow you to highlight something singular about yourself. 

Admissions committees tend to read essays in chronological order, so if you do elect to respond to this prompt, make sure you end on a strong and interesting note. This is a good opportunity to link what you discuss to the UC System in some way. Maybe you have already been involved in a precollege program at a particular UC campus – a creative writing program for high school students, for example – and formed meaningful connections with faculty members in the process. Mentioning details like this can help demonstrate that you truly want to be part of the social fabric of a UC campus and are more likely to attend a UC school if accepted, which could certainly help sway the admissions committee.

Admission to the UC System is highly competitive and continues to become more so each year. This is especially true for out-of-state candidates. The UC System does not allow you to submit standardized test scores or letters of recommendation. Admission officers will have only your GPA, transcript, activities, and honors lists. Therefore, it is essential that you use your essays to provide context for your experiences (both inside and outside of the classroom) and explain how they have prepared you to be a successful UC student. You must work to set yourself apart from other applicants. As you write your essays, keep the 350-word limit for each one in mind, and do not repeat information you have discussed in other essays. Strive to use each essay to tell the admissions committee something new about who you are. Plan out your responses, and make sure you allow yourself adequate time to revise your responses. These short essays are your opportunity to share more about what makes you unique. Consider your motivations, inspirations, values, learning style, character, personal history, and goals for the future. 

Marie Todd has been involved in college admissions for more than 20 years. Marie has both counseled applicants to top colleges and evaluated more than 5,000 applications for the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; College of Engineering; School of Kinesiology; School of Nursing; and Taubman College of Architecture. Want Marie to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch.

Related Resources:

• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your College Application Essays
• Four Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future
• Three Tips for Parents of Applicants

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, uc application essay word count.

Hey all, I'm working on my UC application essays and I'm not exactly sure about the word count limits. What's the maximum word count for the Personal Insight Questions? Is it the same for all UC campuses?

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 limit and communicate your experiences, values, and goals effectively. Good luck with your application!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

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.

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Learn the Top UCLA Supplemental Essay Tips for 2024

By Eric Eng

Want to be a Bruin? You’re in good company if you want to know how to get into UCLA. This 100-plus-year-old research university is known for breaking the world record for the highest number of applications every year. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out some UCLA essay examples to see how others have successfully applied.

The University of California, Los Angeles (best known as UCLA ) may be just a half-hour from the Hollywood entertainment hub, but its students’ favorite majors include technical degrees like biology, business economics, political science, psychology, psychobiology, and economics, making it a highly sought-after location for research and technology. Reviewing UCLA essay examples can give you a good idea of what makes a compelling application.

The application process for UCLA is managed solely by the UC Application Portal. Fortunately, you can use one application for nine campuses. In this blog, we’ll dive into how you can answer UCLA essay prompts as well as everything you should consider when writing. Don’t forget to look at UCLA essay examples to guide you in crafting your responses.

What is the Application Process at UCLA?

Admission to UCLA is just one part of the process when applying to any of the ten UC campuses. The UC system has its application, along with its range of different essay prompts. Those are essay prompts that go out to all applicants, no matter which of those campuses they apply to. Looking at UCLA essay examples can help you understand how to effectively respond to these prompts.

Since UCLA does not use the common app , be ready to give answers to essay questions as provided by the UC system. The supplemental essay prompts for UCLA 2023-2024 offer students a bit of freedom as they choose a topic for the supplemental essay, but let’s look through each essay prompt and talk about the best way to approach each topic. UCLA essay examples can be particularly useful in seeing how others have successfully tackled these topics.

These essay prompts are for all students applying to every campus in the UC system. While the UC system requires no specific type of writing, there are a few things to consider when writing your answers. The UC system offers its applicants eight essay prompts from which to choose, from which you choose four to answer. There is no structural difference in essay weight, so ideally you would focus only on those that speak to you the most. Reviewing UCLA essay examples can provide valuable insights into how to make your responses stand out.

How to Write UCLA Supplemental Essays?

Applicants are asked to answer four of the eight essay prompts, and the UCLA supplemental essay word limit is 350 words per response.

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.

This prompt asks you to reflect on times when you took a leadership role, but leadership can take many forms. Not everyone will be student body president or captain of the football team, but there’s a good chance that you’ve been involved in some sort of activity where you either chose to take the lead, or you had leadership thrust upon you. This might have come in the form of taking charge of a group project or rallying your peers for a cause. It may have even been a leadership role within your family. The goal is to be specific about the circumstances and the impact you were able to have. Reviewing UCLA essay examples can help you understand how to illustrate these experiences effectively.

2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem-solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistic, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

Many students worry that if they don’t participate in the arts, it means they don’t have a creative side, but this isn’t true. Creativity is essential for nearly any important project. Creativity can take the form of problem-solving, and this can relate to the type of career you want to have. The key is to look at creativity very broadly and zero in on the ways that you are creative. UCLA essay examples can show you how to effectively convey your creative side in your writing.

3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

If you are a concert pianist or a master glass blower, this is the place to talk about it. But talent or skill doesn’t always manifest artistically. Sometimes a talent or skill is something much simpler, but the point here isn’t how impressive your talent is, but rather the process you went through to acquire the skill. Talk about your journey, and how it has affected your life. Look at UCLA essay examples to see how other students have effectively discussed their talents and skills.

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

No matter how successful you are as a student, nearly everyone has something they have overcome in their academic career. At the same time, you’ve likely also become involved in some sort of educational activity that has had a unique impact on you and your path. This might be a high-level course in high school or a college-level course. It could also be a program you attended over the summer or after school like an internship or apprenticeship.

The key to answering this prompt is to concentrate on how you took advantage of the opportunity, and what this will mean for your future. Or how you were able to overcome adversity. What did you need to do to remove that obstacle? And what lessons have you learned from the experience? Referencing UCLA essay examples can give you ideas on how to frame your experiences.

5. 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?

This prompt is similar to the one above, but it’s a bit broader. This could be a personal or family challenge, a challenge that faced your community, or it could be an academic challenge. The key to responding to this prompt is what you have learned from the challenge. It’s not a contest to see who has faced the biggest challenge, but rather an opportunity for you to discuss the personal integrity that was required to overcome the challenge.

If you are still working through your challenge, write about what you’ve learned so far, and what action you plan to take in the future. UCLA essay examples can provide insights on how to discuss challenges and growth effectively.

6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

Most students have an area of study that is more interesting than anything else. This prompt allows you to discuss what makes you excited about learning, and it gives you a chance to showcase your intellectual curiosity. Write about what made you so excited about this subject, and why you want to continue pursuing it.

The second part of this prompt asks you to discuss how you transitioned your interest in this subject to other aspects of your life. Did you become active in clubs or community service organizations? Did you devote your summers to programs that allowed you to further your passion? The UC system wants students who are excited about learning, and this is where you can demonstrate your passion. By examining UCLA essay examples, you can see how to effectively convey your passion for a subject.

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Again, when considering this prompt, think of the concept of community as broadly as possible. This could be your school community , your town, your team, or even your group of friends. The key is to focus on a tangible experience in which you made the effort to effect positive change.

When responding to this prompt, think about why you chose to act, and the obstacles you may have faced when you acted. Reflect on your process, and why you chose the actions you took. And finally, write about the outcome of your action. Did it result in a lasting change or did you have to take further action? The goal of this prompt is to demonstrate that you are the kind of person who is proactive and dedicated. UCLA essay examples can help you see how to effectively discuss your contributions to your community.

8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admission to the University of California?

As you’ve worked through the UC application and the UCLA supplemental essays, consider if there is something significant about your life or your education that the UC needs to know. Do you have skills that have not been reflected so far on your application? Have you experienced challenges that are relevant to admissions officers ? You can also discuss why the UC system is the right choice for you because of a specific reason. Reviewing UCLA essay examples can provide you with a better understanding of how to present your unique qualities and experiences effectively.

UCLA Essay Examples

Here are two essay examples that answer prompt #1 and prompt # 2. You may use these as a guide in crafting your own responses. Keep in mind to remain authentic and honest about your experiences.

UCLA Essay Example for prompt #1

While volunteering at the our community sports clinic, a society serving those with disabilities, I noticed the boys participated in activities not otherwise available to girls. Many girls had issues making friends, while the boys seemed comfortable with each other. To improve the girl’s situation, I started the first girls’ basketball team. Many families were against the girl’s participation as they believed sports were for boys. By explaining the mental and physical health benefits of participating, I successfully convinced half of the families. The girls became more confident and self-sufficient. I felt accomplished, not just because I taught them basketball, but because they’d become friends. This experience taught me compassion, commitment, and how to work with people from different backgrounds.

UCLA Essay Example for prompt #2

I was born with a hyperactive imagination and no siblings. My plethora of boredom and lack of playmates was solved by creating a myriad of characters, drawing them, and acting as if I were all of them. I did join theater my freshman year and fell in love almost immediately because it returned me to that childhood innocence of carelessly being someone else. It offered a chance for me to examine how I could adapt my personality, experiences, and charisma into a character and how to bring about those visual ideas into reality by doing makeup.

I was also initiated into improvised comedy. where I expressed my witty and quirky side. The cast and crew I worked with was something I was not used to. But soon enough, I found myself getting inspiring by the creativity that surrounded me. Whether it be a dramatic or comedy play, we worked together to invoke emotion in the audience. It is an honor to make people laugh and cry during our performances because I have touched hundreds of people by having my heart on a stage. On the other hand, painting has been a very private indulgence. Every feeling and thought trapped inside becomes free on the canvas, into a beautiful visual creation. My paintings, like my mood, aren’t uniform and constant; they range from iridescent beaches to scattered splotches, yet every stroke, color, and mistake had a reason.

Being my only patron, my mom couldn’t always afford painting supplies, so I would often resort to using spoons, paper towels, and erasers as tools. No matter the tools I used, my paintings were representations of me. I view the progression of my work as something that speaks to things about my struggles, success, and how I became who I am today. This painting is not an end product but rather, for me, represents the journey and the lessons learned in making it. My creativity has not been limited only to the art that I do, but it has also been part of my appearance and way of thinking and the professional profiles of service toward the solution of mental health problems. Creativity to me means pieces of me that go into doing what I like.

UCLA Major-Specific Supplemental Essay Prompts

The following were gathered from the UCLA Admissions Site:

1. Architecture

Please provide a concise statement that describes why you wish to study architecture at UCLA. What interests you in architecture now, and why at UCLA? You will have 3500 characters (including spaces) / approximately 500 words.

To craft a compelling statement, consider reviewing UCLA essay examples for guidance on structuring your response and highlighting your motivations. UCLA essay examples can help you articulate why UCLA’s architecture program specifically aligns with your interests and goals in the field.

Please provide a concise statement describing your interest, experiences, and influences in art, and your goals for studying art at UCLA. You will have 2200 characters (including spaces) / approximately 300 words. We recommend that you write your statement in a separate word processing program, then copy/paste it into the web application.

Reviewing UCLA essay examples can give you insight into how to effectively structure your statement. Additionally, UCLA essay examples can inspire you to highlight your unique experiences and goals

Please respond to the following prompt: How might dance address some of the pressing social issues of our times? How do you see yourself or other choreographers as social change agents? You will have 3500 characters (including spaces) / approximately 500 words. We recommend that you write your statement in a separate word processing program, and then cut/paste it into the web application. We recommend that you refer to our FAQ for best approaches to this section of the application.

4. Design | Media Arts

In 500 characters or less, list your TOP 5 CREATIVE INFLUENCES. What art or artists inspire you? These could be designers, painters, directors, photographers, video game makers, or any other type of cultural producer.

5. Ethnomusicology

You will be asked to write responses to the below prompts. Please keep in mind that your responses to these questions are a significant part of the supplemental application review.

• What are your reasons for wishing to major in Ethnomusicology? What do you expect from the program? What are your professional or career goals? (200 words maximum)
• Briefly describe your musical background and performance skills. Mention any special interests in particular music traditions, and whether these are through family connections or your own instigation. Music courses you have taken may be included. (200 words maximum)
• Indicate any special training (e.g. knowledge of foreign languages) or experiences (e.g. foreign travel, community development projects involving different cultures, family experience, etc.) that might be relevant to the study of music from a global perspective. (400 words maximum)

6. Film & Television

• Personal Essay (2 page max). The personal essay should include a summary of your background, creative interests, and academic and professional goals. The personal essay may include unusual life experiences, important influences in your life, your motivation to study film and television, and the kind of creative work you hope to pursue. Reviewing UCLA essay examples can provide valuable insights on how to structure your personal narrative and highlight your unique experiences. Do not use the personal essay to flatter us; use these few pages to create a very personal and vivid picture of yourself, what is most important to you, and your creative and professional goals. UCLA essay examples can serve as inspiration to help you craft a compelling and authentic story.
• Life Challenge Essay (2 page max). 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? 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?” Reviewing UCLA essay examples can help you understand how to effectively frame your experiences and lessons learned. Please Note: This question is identical to optional Question #5 on the UC Application. UCLA essay examples can also provide guidance on structuring your narrative to create a compelling and impactful essay.

7. Writing Sample

• Critical Essay (3 page max).  The critical essay is your analysis of a film or television program. This essay is NOT a review. You should assume the reader has seen the work you are discussing; do not include a plot summary. This essay is similar to what you would write in an English literature or film history course. It is your analysis of any aspect(s) of the work you have selected: the use of design, composition, color, lighting, sound, etc. as it relates to social observation or commentary, moral or philosophical elements, psychological aspects or relationships of the characters, dramatic structure, etc; OR
• Creative Writing (5 page max).  You may submit any one kind or combination of creative writing: a short story, a film treatment, a storyboard, a script or play excerpt (including a short synopsis of the complete script), etc. Those interested in submitting poetry, photographs, and/or drawings must submit one other type of creative work. The total of all submitted creative writing combined cannot exceed the 5 page maximum. No preference is given to one type of creative work over another. DO NOT SUBMIT FILMS, DVDS, or CDS.

8. Global Jazz Studies

Please answer all three of the following prompts. You will have 750 words total to respond to all prompts. It is recommended that you write your statement in a separate word processing program, then copy and paste it into the online application.

• What are your reasons for wishing to enroll in the B.A. in Global Jazz Studies? What do you expect from the program? What are your professional or career goals? (250 words maximum)
• Briefly describe your musical background and performance skills. Music courses you have taken may be included. (250 words maximum)
• Indicate any special training or experiences that might be relevant to the study of jazz from a global perspective. (250 words maximum)

9. Music History & Industry

You are required to complete a total of two personal statement responses. The first is required by everyone; the second is a choice between two options, option A (written response) or option B (creative portfolio submission with explanation). As Music History & Industry is not a performance-based major, this choice will allow you to play to your strengths, whether that means calling upon your business savvy or creative prowess.

Reviewing UCLA essay examples can provide valuable insights into how to effectively craft your written response or explain your creative portfolio. Additionally, UCLA essay examples can help you understand how to highlight your unique skills and experiences in a way that aligns with the focus of the Music History & Industry major.

Below please find a list of the required lower division (first year and sophomore) major courses for the Music History & Industry BA. Please discuss how a practical and theoretical training in music ( music theory , musicianship, and performance ensemble participation) will serve your goals of working within the music industry. (400 words max)

Required Lower Division Courses: Musicology M6A, M6B, M6C (Introduction to Musicianship); Music 20A, 20B, 20C (Music Theory I, II, III); Musicology 12W (Writing about Music); 2 Performance Organizations; 1 lower division Musicology or Music Industry elective.

(For a full list of Music Industry courses, please reference the course catalog here .)

Prompt #2: Please choose between option A or option B:

Option A. Written response option: In 1999, the best year the music industry has ever had, revenue from recorded music exceeded that from live musical performance by a factor of 10 to 1. By 2009, thanks to the collapse of the recording market, the ratio had fallen to 3 to 2. Current sales of individual sound recordings and albums remain at historic lows, and the live music sector has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given this complex history, what do you think the music industry will look like in the year 2025? How will music be consumed? What models for generating revenue will be dominant, and why? (400 words max); OR

Option B. Creative portfolio option: Please upload 1-3 recorded (audio, visual, or both) examples of recent work in the highest quality audio possible. In the space for a written response below, please provide a detailed explanation of your specific role in the work (as lyricist, performer, producer, or a combination). If written scores or other documentation are available, please feel free to submit these as well.

10. Music Composition

Please provide a concise statement that describes why you wish to study music at UCLA. In your statement, and in no particular order, please discuss the following elements:

• Your goals for studying music at UCLA
• Your musical interests, experiences, and influences
• Your professional/career objectives

You will have a maximum of 500 words. It is recommended that you write your statement in a separate word processing program, then cut and paste it into the web application.

11. Music Education

• Why you want to study music education at UCLA

12. Music Performance

Please provide a concise statement that describes why you wish to study Music Performance at UCLA. In your statement, and in no particular order, please discuss the following elements:

• Your vision for community engagement and sustained relevance as a musician

13. Musicology

The Musicology major is not primarily a performance major, so there is no audition . Instead, your answers to the following two prompts will serve as your “audition” in words. A strong relationship to writing and verbal expression is fundamental to success in our program. The faculty will be reading these for thoughtfulness, originality, clarity, concision, and correct English.

Reviewing UCLA essay examples can provide you with valuable insights into how to demonstrate these qualities effectively in your responses. Additionally, UCLA essay examples can help you understand how to highlight your unique perspectives and experiences in a way that aligns with the expectations of the Musicology program.

• Tell the admissions committee why you are attracted to the program (Tip: study the course offerings and the profiles of our professors to help craft your answer). (400 words maximum)
• Tell the admissions committee what you think the study of musicology will teach you, and how you envision using those skills after college (Tip: stay focused on the program. You’ll have other opportunities in the admission process to talk about your relationship to music, its importance to humanity, etc). For a basic overview of what “musicology” is, go here. (400 words maximum)

14. Theater – Acting

Acting Essay (300 word max).

An Essay on the following: In addition to generating empathy, how can acting be used to further social justice projects? Please provide a specific example in your answer.

15. Theater – Design/Production

Design Approach (6 page max).  An Essay (2 page max) of your ORIGINAL design approach to any specific Early Modern production (i.e. Shakespeare, Spanish Golden Age, Ming or Qing Dynasties, etc.)  Optional Supporting Images (2-4 page max) of your interpretation of your potential design approach.

16. Theater – Musical Theater

Musical Theater  Acting Essay (300 word max).  An Essay on the following: In addition to generating empathy, how can acting be used to further social justice projects? Please provide a specific example in your answer.

17. World Arts and Cultures

After reading the department’s mission statement , please explain what makes you an especially well-suited candidate for the BA in World Arts and Cultures. Your response must reflect whether and how you see cultures and arts as tools for expression and social transformation. You will have 3500 characters (including spaces) / approximately 500 words. We recommend that you write your statement in a separate word processing program, and then cut/paste it into the web application.

Reviewing UCLA essay examples can provide valuable insights into effectively structuring your response and demonstrating your unique qualifications. Additionally, UCLA essay examples can help you understand how to articulate the importance of cultures and arts in fostering expression and driving social change.

Ready to Start Your UCLA journey?

At AdmissionSight, our goal is to help you with every step of the college admissions process . The UCLA supplemental essays can seem daunting at first, but our experience and expertise, along with providing yoyu essential tips regarding UCLA essay examples, will help you navigate the entire process with confidence. Hopefully, this guide to the UCLA supplemental essays has been helpful, but if you want more information about how AdmissionSight can help you realize your dreams with tailored advice and UCLA essay examples, set up your free consultation today.

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