I have three words for you when it comes to UC essays: content, content, content. If you read my blog entry from a couple of weeks ago about the Common App essay, you will see a lot of differences between UC and Common App essays. For Common App, I told you to write about your personality. I told you to tell a story. I told you to reflect. Ignore all of that when it comes to UC essays.
UC essays can follow a fairly straightforward structure. You don’t need to get too flowery with your language or your delivery. You need to explain the situation, describe what you did, and say what you learned. End the essay with your aspirations for the future, but don’t take up too much space with generalities or overly emotional language.
Throughout the essay, make sure to include quantitative, tangible evidence of your accomplishments. Did you win an award? Weave the name of the award and why you won it into your essay. Did you earn the title of captain, president, or Eagle Scout? Include that in your essay. Did you work 20 hours a week from 9th to 12th grade? Add that type of information into the essay as well.
One thing that UC loves: leadership. If you have leadership experience you will most likely respond to Prompt #1. However, you can include leadership experiences in other prompts. When responding to Prompt #3 about a talent or skill, add leadership positions you held in your field of expertise. For Prompt #7 about community service, discuss leadership experience you gained from those projects. Add leadership anywhere and everywhere you can.
One thing that UC hates: complaining. If you are going to respond to Prompt #5 about a challenge that you faced, make sure that the amount of space you devote to explaining the problem is small compared to the rest of the essay. Briefly explain what the challenge was, but then spend the majority of the essay on explaining what you did to overcome the challenge and what you learned from the experience. UC even has a saying for this: Explain, don’t complain!
