Slide the Common App to the side, and let’s talk about the second most common application that we help our students with. The University of California system has its own application, and it is an important one to understand if you are dreaming of an education in the Golden State.
There are 9 undergraduate UC schools, and they all use the same application. While they are all public research universities, each has its own flavor. Generally, our students gravitate towards Cal (aka The University of California, Berkeley) and UCLA (The University of California, Los Angeles). Our students have also fallen in love with UC San Diego’s impressive STEM majors, UC Santa Barbara’s commitment to research, and UC Davis’ environmental programs.
The UCs vary widely in competitiveness and acceptance rates. For example, the UC with the lowest acceptance rate is UCLA, at only 9.4% last year. The highest acceptance rate is typically at UC Merced, which clocked in at 95% last year. You should also note that this is an overall acceptance rate. The others all fall somewhere in between, like Cal at 11% or UCSD at 28%. These rates are only part of the story. If you are an out-of-state applicant, the rates will be significantly lower, and if you are a California resident, they will be slightly higher. Also, the UCs have candidates apply directly into a major and popular majors can have far lower acceptance rates than the overall average (we can help you navigate this; it’s actually pretty complicated).
Also, take note: the UCs are test-blind. That means they don’t care about your 35 on the ACT. They won’t even look at it. Your transcript, resume, GPA, and essays need to be impressive. The UCs attract a lot of talent. For example, last year, the average GPA for UCLA was 4.20–4.30 and 4.15-4.29 for Cal. Even Merced had an average between 3.54 and 4.15. Look at all those above 4.0 averages. That means their students are taking advanced weighted classes en masse. We routinely work with students as early as their freshman year to ensure they are the type of applicant that top UCs are working with. It takes time to build the type of resume that schools like Cal and UCLA are looking for. If you don’t know where to start, reach out; again, we can help!
There is a lot to love about the UC system, and if you are applying to one, it is easy to add more to your application. We recommend researching each school, and we can even help you decide which to apply to if you need advice! We also wanted to share some of our tips for the UC application essays. We work with students every year to craft these essays, and if you want to ensure a high-quality, standout application, our counselors have you covered.
The UC application asks you to write any 4 essays from a set of 8 prompts. Each one should be 250-350 words.
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 is a classic question asked by multiple colleges, not just the UCs. The trick to this essay is to make sure it doesn’t sound like a regurgitation of your resume. Often, when we start brainstorming topics for this essay with our students, they tell us about administrative or organizational tasks they do for a club they are on the board of. Technically, a story about scheduling club events as the president of the robotics team answers the question, but it doesn’t feel exciting. It is kind of what is expected in the role.
We greatly prefer when our students tell stories of leadership outside of official duties. For example, we had a student who wrote about leading auditions for her dance team. When she first joined the team as a freshman, auditions were competitive and unfriendly. She wrote about the steps she took to change that culture and make it a more supportive and positive experience. We love this approach because it includes an emotional component, and this story shows how she creates welcoming spaces. This is a skill she can bring to college. It is also a story about something she chose to do rather than what was expected of her in her role on the team. She could have approached auditions like past leaders had done for years, but she chose to be a positive influence on new members and the club itself. That’s the kind of story they are looking for!
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.
If you are an artistic person, this is a great prompt to tell an interesting story about your artistic practice. We have had students write about everything from poetry to upcycling clothes to playing the harp. However, you don’t need to be artistically talented to answer this question. We love when students write about creative ways of thinking or problem-solving. We had a student write about solving issues in code and finding ways to get kids excited for camp activities as a counselor. Creative problem-solving can take many forms. If you are a creative thinker, this is also a great prompt for you. Tell us a story about how you approached a problem creatively and how you solved it.
What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Sometimes our students are nervous about writing this one. We think this has to do with the word “greatest.” We have a little trick to get around this. We often tell our students to choose a quirky talent they haven’t yet had a chance to discuss in their application, and then use that talent to discuss something bigger. We love when students write about a mundane or surprising talent and connect it to a larger interpersonal skill or personality characteristic. Cooking can be about curiosity; free diving can really be about accepting limits; reading body language can be about emotional intelligence (yes, these are all from past students).
We had a student write about his passion for rock climbing, but he used rock climbing as a way to talk about trusting his intuition. In rock climbing, there is a mantra, “trust your feet,” and this mantra not only helped him grow as a climber but also as a person. His greatest skill was really confidence, but he got to write about something more concrete, as rock climbing helped him develop it. We find this approach takes some of the pressure off the word “greatest” and allows for more solid stories.
Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
This question isn’t for everyone. If this doesn’t immediately sound like something you have experienced, skip it. We would say that over 95% of our students don’t answer this question. This is a really tricky prompt to answer well without introducing any red flags to the college. That being said, this can be a place to write about educational barriers that you need to explain. If this does sound like something you could write, we would highly recommend working with a professional to write it.
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?
Much like the previous question, most students should just skip this one. The biggest word here is "significant." Don’t write this question about failing a test once. The challenge has to be big. Even if you have a big challenge, we don’t always recommend writing about it. Sometimes big challenges can look a lot like red flags to colleges.
While colleges say they want all kinds of students, what they really want are students who will succeed at their school and graduate in four years without incident. Talking about an ongoing challenge can make you sound like a student who won’t do well at their school.
Still, sometimes you need to explain an issue with your academic record. For example, we had a student who was chronically ill their sophomore year. They had to miss a lot of school, and thus their grades sophomore year didn’t match the rest of their transcript. They used this question to write about their health challenges and how they had to work hard to catch up with their studies junior year. They finished this essay with how they were now doing well. This is important: if you write this question, it has to end with you thriving. Sometimes a happy ending can feel disingenuous, but they are essential for this type of question.
This is another prompt that we would highly recommend talking to a counselor if you are tempted or need to take on.
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
While the other three prompts you take on are kind of up to you, you should do this one. We advise every student we work with to write this essay. This is your chance to talk about what you hope to major in, and talking about your academic interests is kind of a must to get accepted. The UCs ask you to choose a program at each school you apply to. We work with our students to choose the right programs, build resumes that reflect their interests, and strategically apply. Ideally, by the time you apply, you have a solid academic plan, but at very least, you should know what you want to study and that your program choices are similar enough for you to write a single essay about a topic that connects to them all.
Sometimes we have a student who applies to slightly different UC programs. For example, we had a student who was applying to Engineering Physics at Cal and Mathematics at UCLA. UCLA doesn’t have an Engineering Physics major. Thankfully, he had pursued an independent math research project in his junior year, which could connect to both majors.
This question says “inside and/or outside of the classroom,” but your answer really needs to include outside of the classroom. When we start working with a student early, we make sure they explore academic interests outside their normal school day. This can be through advanced classes or programs, research, internships, or fellowships. These are the types of experiences that will impress top UCs and will allow you to write a great essay for this prompt.
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
This prompt is pretty similar to the first one. So close that we sometimes advise choosing one or the other. You can write both, but they should feel different if you do. Don’t just write another story about a leadership position you hold. Tell a good story about what you have done for your community.
A lot of our students are passionate about volunteering. You can certainly tell a story about volunteering to answer this question, but it shouldn’t feel like a regurgitation of your resume. Choose a specific story.
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?
You can approach this final question just like you approached the Common App Essay (yes, we have a whole other blog about that too…). Honestly, many students cut down their Common App essay for this prompt. You are going to be writing so many essays during the application process. If you can strategically reduce the amount of work you have to do, that is great. However, it doesn’t work with all Common App essays. Sometimes cutting the essay in half is just too hard.
The UC app is long (we didn’t even talk about their activities and awards section here!) Make sure you give yourself enough time to write, brainstorm, and edit. If you are serious about attending a top UC (especially if you are an out-of-state student), we also recommend working with a counselor. We can help you at any stage of the college application process, including writing outstanding essays. The UCs have an earlier deadline than most colleges.
Reach out to get started today!