University of California Essay Prompts 5+6: Tips, Tricks, and Ideas

Welcome back for another edition of UC app essays. Today, we go through essay prompts 5&6. Let’s get to it! 

Prompt 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?

The word “challenge” is extremely broad in scope and could range from financial hardships to familial circumstances to personal illness to learning disabilities. This prompt asks you to connect this obstacle with your academic situation, so it should have had an impact on your performance in school.

“Academic achievement” stretches far beyond grades on exams. It could mean your intellectual goals or your struggle to balance homework with your part-time job, and perhaps the strain in your relationships with peers and teachers due to such time constraints. As a result, think of the challenge first before deliberating whether it could be linked to something academic-related.

Make sure to talk about what you learned from the challenge, detailing growth and maturity along the way. You may not have risen above the challenge yet, and may have even been defeated, or may be conquering it right now. In all cases, development must exist, so be sure to document them. What has become different because of this challenge? Examples here can be difficult and require you to be vulnerable. This is good for students who aren’t shy of sharing. Its fine if you cant share, just choose one of the other prompts! 

Prompt 6 

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

First, reflect on an academic subject that makes you happy to study. What have you done in and/or outside of the classroom to learn more about it? Did you watch Too Big to Fail and brought it as discussion material to your economics teacher’s office hours? How do you plan to advance in your chosen subject if you do not intend to major in it? If you could create a college class that looked and sounded like your chosen subject, what would the class be called? What would the curriculum be like?

Remember to include concrete accomplishments such as research, internship, volunteer experience, homemade project that you pitched to the school board, etc. Do not forget to explain how your love for the subject drives the work you do, because the why can easily get lost in describing the what. 

Here are some examples: 

• You continued to develop apps and games even after you took computer science in class 9. Eventually, you became good enough to land a summer internship at a recently funded startup due to your self-taught knowledge of various programming languages.

• Sociology as subject fascinated you in class 11. You read a research paper about public health policy written by a researcher in your city.  Eventually, you mustered up the courage to email the author of the paper who agreed to let you assist his research for the next few months. 

We hope this helps! UC deadlines are November 30th. Come chat with us if you have more questions!

University of California Essay Prompts 3+4: Tips, Tricks, and Ideas

Welcome back for another edition of UC app essays. Today, we go through essay prompts 3&4. Let’s get to it! 

Prompt 3

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

Although it would be easy to list all the awards you have won in the activity you are best in, this prompt is looking for something deeper and more meaningful. It is perfectly fine to describe an activity you are dedicated to, but also think about the character and personality traits that tie into the activity, such as tenacity, honesty, and compassion. The key is to elucidate why this activity is worth putting all your time into, and how your personality strengths are exhibited through this activity. Describe the beauty and the meaning of the activity, convincing the admissions officers that this activity rightly takes precedence over everything else.

Do not be put off by this prompt if you have not won any big awards. All the prompt asks for is what you think is your greatest talent or skill.

Make sure to also address how you have developed and demonstrated this talent. Do you put in small amounts of practice every day, or strenuous hours for a couple short periods each year? Why do you allocate your time this way? How have you shown off your talent or skill to other people? Have you won competitions, done performances, gotten into showcases, or shined artistically? Here are a few examples:

• As a guitarist who has not yet won any big competitions, you visited the local non profit school to entertain students each week without fail. There, you found great meaning in your guitar playing — sharing your love of music with others.

• A star on your school’s basketball team, you have been playing ever since you were seven. As the captain, you have settled numerous feuds between players, as well as spiked team morale toward the end of the seasons. In this case, you could discuss the valuable leadership and teamwork experience you have gained through playing on the team.

Prompt 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 life. For example, participation in an honors enrichment program or enrollment in an academy geared toward a profession, or even a particularly enlightening conversation with an adult — just to name a few.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you have faced, what personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How has the process shaped you as a person? An added plus would be talking about passing it forward and helping those in your purview obtain the knowledge you did from your experiences.

We hope this helps! UC deadlines are November 30th. Come chat with us if you have more questions!

University of California Essay Prompts 1+2: Tips, Tricks, and Ideas

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. Six of these campuses ranked in the top 50 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 college ranking, most notably Berkeley at 20 and UCLA at 24. Total enrollment at University of California schools sits above 250,000, with each campus having around 25,000 undergraduate students.  

University of California schools have their own application portal, and the deadline is November 30th, a full month before the Common Application is due. Every school is included in this application, so it is easy to apply to multiple UCs, finances permitting. The application requires you to answer four of the eight personal insight questions, with a 350-word limit on each prompt. The prompts may seem a lot but with some organization and thought, they can be easily cracked. Here at Edbrand, we are happy to help! To start, just remember:

1. Do not rush into prompts at first glance. Make sure that you have jotted down potential ideas for all but the ones you want to avoid, and ultimately write about the one with the most substance.
2. Your answers should be able to highlight what is most important to you.

Prompt 1 

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time

Here, the admissions officers want to see your leadership experience as more concrete than a “president” or “treasurer” title on your resume. They are looking for how you have fostered mentorship, creative tension, and group action in your organization. Leadership roles are not limited to titled positions or to the school environment.

For example, just because you were only a member in the chess club does not mean you cannot have taken leadership in organizing a tournament or fundraiser. If you have indeed occupied a leadership role, convince the admissions officers that you have used the position to positively influence others. 

Prompt 2 

By defining creativity as, but not limited to, problem-solving, novel thinking, and artistic expression, this prompt expands creativity to encompass all academic fields. Therefore, do not be put off by this prompt if you are not in a traditionally “creative” role (i.e., artist or poet). The prompt’s emphasis on problem-solving allows you to draw narratives from (seemingly) mundane everyday tasks such as creating a contraption to massage your tennis elbow.

Here are some examples:

• In math, devising a non-textbook method to proving theorems

• In politics, integrating new quantitative methods in technology to gauge voter proclivities

• In English, scouting for “locations of inspiration” to write your next short story

• In history, writing a journal piece detailing a unique way to view Hitler’s invasion of Poland

• In science, finding ways to offer affordable care to HIV patients

All these examples, if explained well, demonstrate creativity. Ideally, you would want to finish your essay by detailing how you will apply such creative thinking in college and beyond.

This concludes our UC essay series! We hope that this helped! College essays can be challenging especially when deadlines are November 30th. Come chat with us if you have more questions!

UIUC Essays: Prompt 4

Welcome back to another edition of our UIUC college essays rundown. Today we shall cover prompt four! 

In the space below, describe how you have made a difference in your high school or community and what you hope to contribute to life at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (100 words)

With a 100 words maximum, concision is going to be your friend. There’s not enough space for a full-blown introduction, so it’s best to just dive right in. You will likely want to structure this as two miniature paragraphs — one about your high school endeavors, the other about your plans for UIUC.

Regarding the specific word count breakdown, you will likely want to spend more time discussing your high school experience. This is perfectly fine, especially if you have a lot to touch on.

When you talk about making a difference in high school, don’t exclusively discuss organizations or officer positions, but instead focus on specific actions you engaged in. It’s okay to lead into it with something like “As class president, I…” but your specific duties are the primary focus of this section.

Here are some good examples:

• “I fundraised over Rs. 50,000 to end world hunger.”

• “I mentored special needs students after school.”

• “I organized a group to protest a school policy that would’ve cut arts funding.”

• “I tutored middle schoolers in math and science.”

• “I started an initiative dedicated to giving people anonymous compliments.”

You might need to offer a short explanation (no more than a sentence) for more obscure undertakings, but most of your actions should speak for themselves.

As for the section on contributing to life at UIUC, you might spend more time discussing this if you weren’t as heavily involved in community service during high school. If you plan on pursuing something similar at UIUC, now is a great opportunity to express that. For instance, if you started an initiative giving people anonymous compliments, you could briefly discuss your goal of alleviating stress on campus by simply spreading joy to your peers. Ideally, your past experiences relate to you future goals, which lends itself to a nice transition between the two sections.

This part of the response is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of UIUC-specific programs. Do some research on their website about the different types of initiatives and service groups on campus.

Some Final Words

It’s already been mentioned, but it’s important enough to mention again: These are the only essays UIUC will see. That means you have a huge responsibility to be personable and unique while also demonstrating competent writing style and academic focus.

While we at Edbrand sometimes encourage riskier supplemental essays, you should avoid that for UIUC. This is because you aren’t coupling these with your Common App essay, which tends to be more grounded and central to your identity.

Most importantly, make sure your essays are truly a reflection of you. Don’t try to use overly elevated language if that isn’t how you normally write. If you’re unsure whether your voice is coming across, ask a family member or friend to read over your essays; they often have invaluable advice.

UIUC Essays: Prompt 3

Welcome back to another edition of our UIUC college essays rundown. Today we shall cover prompt three! 

If you select a second-choice major other than the Division of General Studies on your application, write a second essay explaining your interest in this major, too. (300-400 words)

This prompt is similar to the previous one, so you should approach it in largely the same manner. It might be tempting to focus less on this essay, but you shouldn’t neglect it just because it’s your second-choice major. Admission officers will be able to tell if you’ve gotten lazy.

Other than that, make sure you keep our suggestions from the previous section in mind. Remember to provide adequate insight into any examples you provide, and focus on being succinct, so you can add in as much content as possible.

These are some good things to get your creative motors running! We will continue this conversation with prompt on our next blog post. So keep checking this space! Like, comment, or come meet us if you’re in doubt

UIUC Essays: Prompt 2

Welcome back to another edition of our UIUC college essays rundown. Today we shall cover prompt two! 

Explain your interest in the major you selected and describe how you have recently explored or developed this interest inside and/or outside the classroom. You may also explain how this major relates to your future career goals. If you’re applying to the Division of General Studies, explain your academic interests and strengths or your future career goals. You may include any majors or areas of study you’re currently considering. (300-400 words)

Since this is the most extensive essay UIUC will be receiving from you, it is also the most important! Your main objectives here should be conveying your passion for a certain subject and explaining how that relates to your future goals. Also focus on expressing your love for the school by touching on specific aspects of the school that you think will suit you well.

While you might be tempted to simply reference your extracurricular activities in this section, this is not enough. Admission officers can already see your activities, so mentioning them again without further elaboration would be redundant. Instead, you should hone in on something more personal, and then proceed to explain it in greater depth.

Although your essay should not just restate extracurriculars or relevant classes, it is okay to briefly mention them as long as they provide a transition into new, more meaningful information. This “something meaningful” can be anything from an entertaining moment during one of your activities/classes to a more serious discussion of how you arrived at that passion. Just make sure your response illuminates something unique about you.

Because this essay is the most complex for this school, we recommend tackling it in smaller chunks. You’ll find that focusing on the structure of these shorter essays often does wonders for the overall cohesion of the finished product.

Introduction (100 Words Or Less)

In this section of the response, your primary goal is to indicate your prospective major, but in a manner that the school would find compelling. Some of the most effective ways to hook the reader are by using figurative language or an anecdote, but there are a plethora of other ways as well — just be creative! Also, make sure your introduction allows for enough elaboration in the body section.

Because the introduction is so crucial to the development of this essay, below are some examples of good and bad introductions with explanations.

Body (250 Words Or Less)

Your goal with the body of this essay is to further elaborate on your involvement with your respective major. It is okay to mention extracurriculars and classes in this section, but only if you couple them with explanations of how they impacted you. Consider implementing some additional discussion of your future career plans if you haven’t already done so in the introduction.

The body of your essay doesn’t have to be quite as flashy as the introduction, but it needs to be more purposeful. You might spend less time here on an extended metaphor, and instead opt to explain why your experience in a particular subject area inspired you to pursue it further.

Conclusion

No length is specified in the conclusion, because it varies depending on how many words you have already used, and to what extent your intro/body necessitates closure.

If you have a lot of space left, you might mention specific programs or clubs that fit with your major. You could also go into greater depth here regarding your long-term career goals. If you find a program at UIUC that incorporates your career aspirations — take, for example, a school-funded internship program — this is a great place to discuss it.

Otherwise, the conclusion should simply wrap up the main idea of your essay with a general discussion of your interests that you already set forth. Avoid being too repetitive; it’s better to keep your summary brief and to the point. If you began the essay with thematic material, it should resurface in the conclusion. The last sentence of the essay should be powerful enough to leave a lasting impression on the reader. This will ensure that admissions officers remember your essay

These are some good things to get your creative motors running! We will continue this conversation with prompt on our next blog post. So keep checking this space! Like, comment, or come meet us if you’re in doubt

UIUC Essays: Prompt 1

Located in the vast cornfields of east-central Illinois, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is widely renowned as one of the country’s most influential public research universities. In fact, it has ranked first in National Science Foundation award funding for six consecutive years. Many sources consider UIUC one of the top 50 universities in the world, and some have even ranked its engineering school in the top five worldwide.

When it comes to the student body, UIUC’s middle 50 ACT scores range from 27-33, while middle 50 SAT scores range from 1360-1480. With an acceptance rate of about 66%, UIUC is a fairly selective school.

One final thing to keep in mind is that UIUC is not a Common Application school. That means you’ll have to submit a separate application either on the school’s website or by mail.This also means UIUC won’t be reading your Common App essay, meaning that the school-specific essays count for even more. Read more to understand all our tips and tricks. So, lets dive into prompt 1! 

“Additional information that you believe should be included” (200 words) 

One big misconception about these sorts of “additional information” questions is that your application hinges on them. On the contrary, these questions best serve to provide more context for your high school situation if the rest of your application is inadequate in doing so. They should never be a mere restatement of information your admission officers can find in the main application.

Because extenuating circumstances range so widely, there’s no set structure to follow for this response. Instead, below we have listed a few examples of suitable topics: 

• Perhaps you had a family emergency during class 10 that severel affected your mental health. As a result, your grades suffered
• Maybe you have a special skill/hobby worth mentioning that doesn’t appear anywhere on your activities section. For instance, you can code robots and have been creating simple solutions around your house
• Maybe you moved from a small town to a big city and found it hard to acclimatize.

These are some good things to get your creative motors running! We will continue this conversation with prompt on our next blog post. So keep checking this space! Like, comment, or come meet us if you’re in doubt! 

Georgia Tech Supplemental Essays Tips and Tricks

Situated in the bustling city of Atlanta, Georgia Institute of Technology (or Georgia Tech or GA Tech) is one of the best research and technological universities in the nation. Known for its engineering and computer science programs, Georgia Tech maintains a rigorous curriculum that helps prepare students for high-paying jobs in the STEM fields.

With an acceptance rate of only 25% and median ACT scores of 30-33, Georgia Tech’s admissions process is competitive. But beyond test scores and grades, the school also emphasizes essays.

Read along to learn more about the various tips and tricks 

‘Why Georgia Tech?’ Essay

Beyond rankings, location, and athletics, why are you interested in attending Georgia Tech? (max 150 words)

With this essay, Georgia Tech gauges if applicants are truly interested in the university’s offerings or are simply intrigued by its name value. The key here is to showcase to the admissions officers that you see yourself thriving at Georgia Tech. Don’t let the low word count lull you to sleep. This question is vital to demonstrating your interest in the university.

But remember, this question is still about you. Ensure that you discuss topics such as how you will fit into the campus community or how you will improve the university. There are three foundational steps to taking on this essay: research, pinpoint, and personalize.

Research

For this step, find out as much about Georgia Tech as you possibly can. The more that you know about the university, the more easily you will be able to express why you want to be a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket. Georgia Tech rewards applicants who demonstrate thoughtfulness in expressing why they want to attend the university.

Helpful resources for this include:

• Family or friends who are either alumni or current undergraduates

• Information Sessions and interviews 

• Their website http://www.gatech.edu

• Follow Georgia Tech Admissions on social media

Remember, the essential aspect here is to learn how you can take advantage of Georgia Tech’s opportunities and unique characteristics.

Pinpoint

Since this essay is only 150 words, there is no space to waste. This means that you should focus on one aspect (at most two) of Georgia Tech that resonates with you. Your essay shouldn’t read like a list, but rather should give admissions officers a compelling idea of what you will bring to Georgia Tech. This strategy is most impactful if you choose something distinctive about the school.

The aspect of Georgia Tech you choose to hone in on does not need to be academic. For example, Georgia Tech is known for its school spirit. A powerful essay could describe how an applicant who planned and promoted school events during high school strives to cultivate a school identity similar to that of Georgia Tech.

If you’re looking to highlight a strength of Georgia Tech’s engineering culture without sounding cliché, you could bring up the Invention Studio, describing how much you’re looking forward to tinkering around with new gadgets. Connecting this to your desire to create and innovate new technological masterpieces would be a great way to add a personal element. In this way, you can showcase that your personality blends perfectly with Georgia Tech’s school atmosphere and values.

Personalize

Now that you have an idea of what to write about, you should express something about yourself.

One way to do so is to discuss an extracurricular activity you participated in during high school and how you plan to delve deeper at Georgia Tech. For instance, an applicant interested in the environment might discuss her summer internship researching solar energy and how she plans to continue innovative research through Georgia Tech’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.

Georgia Tech seeks students who are passionate and authentic. To demonstrate these qualities in your writing, strive to show, not tell. If writing about your interest in Georgia Tech’s study-abroad program, don’t tell the admissions officers that you like traveling and going to art exhibits. Rather, share an anecdote about how visiting the Louvre in France changed your perspective on the importance of art in society.

‘Your Choice’ Essay

With Georgia Tech’s second supplementary essay, you choose one of three diverse options. Keep in mind that there is no “best option.” Simply choose the question that jumps out at you or that you feel most comfortable answering.

With each of these three essay options, Georgia Tech wants to assess how you will mesh with the university’s core values and interests. Don’t be afraid to use this essay to highlight something unique about yourself that will help your application come to life.

Option One

Tech’s motto is Progress and Service.  We find students who ultimately have a broad impact first had a significant one at home.  What is your role in your immediate or extended family? And how have you seen evidence of your impact on them? (max 150 words)

This prompt invites you to get personal and is ideal for someone who has taken care of his elderly grandmother, encouraged a family member to complete her education, or worked a part-time job to support a family. With this essay, Georgia Tech wants to identify individuals who have made an effort to improve the lives of those around them and will continue to do so at their university.

However, your impact doesn’t need to be something massive to be significant. For instance, you could write about how helping a younger sibling with his math homework has helped him to improve his multiplication skills. No matter the situation, don’t forget to discuss the impact that you have had on your family. In many cases, it’s also helpful to reflect upon what you learned from this experience.

Since this prompt is specific, it may not be the one for you if you can’t identify a significant influence you’ve had on your family.

Option Two

Georgia Tech is always looking for innovative undergraduates. Have you had any experience as an entrepreneur? What would you like Georgia Tech to provide to further your entrepreneurial interests?

As a university interested in providing its students with a variety of opportunities to gain work experience and innovate freely, Georgia Tech actively seeks students who can take advantage of its entrepreneurial offerings.

Don’t be afraid to answer this prompt if you haven’t had any direct business experience. An entrepreneurial approach to an existing problem comes in many different forms. For instance, you could explain how your experiences in Virtual Enterprise, FFA, or software development have led to a desire to launch new programs in these areas.

You can also answer this question by discussing an innovative approach you have taken to solve a problem. A school magazine editor could describe a creative approach she pioneered to use social media to promote publicity for the yearbook.

No matter the situation, ensure that you also emphasize how Georgia Tech will help you to bring your ideas into the real world. One of the many ways Georgia Tech fosters innovation is through its Capstone Design course, in which undergraduates work as a team to design, create, and test prototypes that will have real-world applications. A student interested in creating a device that more reliably detects liver cancer could express their interest in the Capstone Design course as a vehicle to help them bring their product into production. 

Option Three

We challenge our students to ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable.’ Tell us about a time in high school that you felt outside of your comfort zone and the resolution.

As this prompt is vague, it provides a perfect opportunity for you to write about any number of topics. Don’t be afraid to break the mold and discuss something that is out of the ordinary or uncommon.

An essay for this prompt excels when it highlights an aspect of your identity you didn’t discuss in your other essays. For example, a basketball player could write about her experience as a supporting actress in her school’s production of the Wizard of Oz.  In the same way, an introverted applicant could describe getting outside of his comfort zone by taking the initiative to organize a team for Relay for Life.

When writing this essay, remember to discuss both the situation and the outcome of being outside of your comfort zone. Reflection also plays an essential role. Answer questions such as why you decided to get outside of your comfort zone, what you learned about yourself by doing so, and how this decision has impacted you. By answering these types of questions, you will write both an informative and compelling essay.

Learn more about how to master college essays with our expert writing program. Go to our contact us page! 

Do Common App Essay Prompts Really Matter?

The 2017-18 Common Application platform went live recently, and in the ensuing weeks you will undoubtedly read a lot about the Common App’s personal essay. You will read about essays that worked and didn’t work. You will read about what each prompt means, which prompts are better than others, and what admissions officers are looking for in these 650-word representations of each applicant. However do the essays really even matter? NO. That’s the short answer. But here’s the reason why. 

The aim of the admissions essay is to tell admissions officers something they don’t know about you and that isn’t represented anywhere else on the application. The essay should aim to reveal something about your true passions, interests, and goals while giving a taste of your personality. Reading your essay should give admissions officers insight into what it would be like to have a conversation with you. What makes you tick. What makes you, you.

While the essay can be an excellent launch point for a revolutionary essay, the challenge most students face is trying to decide which prompt to tackle before they even understand which of their stories and characteristics they want to put on display.

At EdBrand we like to take a very different approach. We work through an inverted funnel method. First think of the a story that displays something you are proud of and then try to fit it into one of the essay prompts. Here are the steps we like to take with our students: 

1. Let them take a cursory look at the Common Application’s essay prompts to get generally acquainted with them.
2. Forget about the prompts! Like, no memory about them for a while. Don’t let your creative juices get tainted by the silly questions at all. 
3. Collect their best stories and ruminate on their defining characteristics. What doesn’t admissions know about you that you want them to know? What moments in your life have shaped you and made you the person you are today? (We do this through a comprehensive one-on-one conversation with our writing mentors!)
4. Dig those prompts out of cold storage. Read each one with your essay topic in mind. Choose the prompt that most closely fits the story! 

There you have it! You are now writing an amazing common app essay!! Still have questions, come meet us for coffee.