The UC Personal Statement:

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The UC Personal Statement
Just how personal is a Personal
Statement?
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Purpose of the Personal Statement

• Part of UCs comprehensive review process
• Opportunity to provide information that supports
  and augments the review process
• Helps readers know and understand
  applicants

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Personal Statement Completes the Application

• Admissions officials are looking for a theme on
  your application
• Statement defines your goals
• Statement shows how well prepared you are for
  your goals
• Statement ties the application together

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The Personal Statement

• Adds clarity, depth and meaning to information
  collected in other parts of the UC application
• An admission decision will never be based on the
  content of a personal statement alone

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A Message From UC Faculty

• While it is acceptable to receive feedback or
  helpful suggestions, applicants personal
  statements should reflect their own ideas and be
  written by them alone.
• Dont let a parent write it for you!
• We can tell if its not student work

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Instructions

• Two questions
• Students respond to both questions.
• A maximum of 1,000 words total
• Students should stay within the word limit as
  closely as they can. A little over1,012 words,
  for exampleis fine.
• Students choose length of each response.
• If they choose to respond to one prompt at
  greater length, we suggest the shorter answer be
  no less than 250 words.

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Prompt 1

• Describe the world you come from for example,
  your family, community or school and tell us
  how your world has shaped your dreams and
  aspirations.  
• Advice Pick one and elaborate make sure you
  are writing to share information about YOU, dont
  get side tracked with descriptions.
• Hard to answer if you dont first decide what
  your dreams and aspirations are!

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Prompt 2

• Tell us about a personal quality, talent,
  accomplishment, contribution or experience that
  is important to you. What about this quality or
  accomplishment makes you proud and how does it
  relate to the person you are?
• Basic message should be about YOU not the
  experience.
• Hard to answer if you dont know
• what kind of person you are.

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Additional Comments

• Use Additional Comments box for clarification,
  expansion on important details
• Additional names/schools/transcript irregularity
• Visa issue
• Health issue, disability, challenge,
• This is NOT an extension of the Personal
  Statement.

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Important Strategies

• Answer the prompt!!
• Write about special circumstances that have
  influenced your educational experience
• Read critically and write analytically.
• Think like an admissions reader by capitalizing
  on the relationship between readers and writers.
• Use a writing process.
• Get good feedback.

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Think Like an Admissions Reader

• Readers are friendly professionals who want to
  admit you.
• Readers are looking for answers to questions they
  have regarding the application.
• Readers are seasoned professionals who can spot
  baloney.
• Readers know nothing about you except whats on
  your application.

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Cinderella Story

• Cinderella was sad because her stepmother and 2
  stepsisters went to the ball without her. Her
  fairy godmother cast a magic spell that sent
  Cinderella to the ball in a pumpkin coach where
  she met the prince who fell in love with her. She
  ran away at the stroke of midnight, because the
  spell would end, but the prince tracked her down,
  married her and took her to the castle to live
  happily ever after.

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Critical Reading and Analytical Writing

• Level one Facts
• Level two Interpretation
• Level three Meaning and significance

• Answers to L1 questions provide details in
  paragraphs. How many stepsisters did Cinderella
  have?
• Answers to L2 questions are topic sentences of
  paragraphs. Why did she get left behind?
• Answers to L3 questions are thesis statements of
  essays. Why did Cinderella need a prince to
  rescue her?

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Writing Process

• Read the application critically using levels of
  questions.
• Draft a one sentence answer. Then dress it up
  as an essay.
• Get feedback give readers at least a week to
  respond.
• Revise for organization, clarity and meaning.
• Proofread.

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If you missed the mark

• If youve chosen a topic and its not coming
  easy or needs to be re-written too many times,
  it might be appropriate to toss it and start over.

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Caution

• Avoid a sob story
• No sarcasm
• Dont use offensive language
• Be careful with humor
• Avoid being cute or perky
• Dont write about another person!
• This application can only admit you not your
  grandmother!

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Tips

• Write in your voice
• Show dont tell as you write
• Be sincere
• Write as if this is a college paper (it is)
• No fluff. Every sentence should have meaning and
  provide information germane to the topic (you).
• Use active verbs, and adjectives that create
  emotion
• Confirm the theme of your application

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Questions?