UPDATE: as of March 23, 2016 The University of California announced NEW essay prompts for 2016-17. Read about how to answer them HERE.
This post is now outdated. The information is no longer relevant!!
College Admissions Essay Help
The University of California Application Essay Prompt #1
So you want to go to UCLA. Or Cal, aka Berkeley. Or UC Irvine. Or Santa Barbara. Maybe Santa Cruz. Perhaps San Diego. Could be Davis! They are all such amazing schools–and you should do your best to write killer college admissions essays to get in.
If you are trying to write a college essay for the University of California’s Prompt #1, you should drop everything and read this super helpful post on how to answer it. Make sure to read the comments under that post, since students have asked questions about possible topics and I gave them specific advice and tips–which you might find helpful, too.
After that, check out my new Tumblr blog that is designed to help you find your “world” through inspiring photos. I’m looking for more ideas of images of “worlds,” so if you have a good one, please let me know in comments and I will try to find an inspiring image for it.
Also, make sure to SHOW the World You Come From by using descriptive details to describe the setting!
Hello, J9ROBINSON! I have a couple topics in mind the the two UC prompts. I want to study linguistics in college so I’d like to connect my home life (I speak Spanish and English), and my natural curiosity of languages in my essay. I have studied French all throughout high school and would like to pursue it further in college as well. Anyway, in February, my family and I hosted a French foreign exchange student and the experience was amazing for both of us. It was incredible to live vicariously through his eyes because everything was new to him. It greatly impacted me and made me want to study linguistics even more. I don’t know if I should write about this for the first or second prompt because I have another experience that shows another side of me: being Drum Major. For the past three years, I have been in marching band. My sophomore year, I became section leader of the flutes, and my natural ability to lead was a key indicator that I was fit for the role of Drum Major. The second prompt has to do with an accomplishment so I figured I could write about my leadership side. Please just tell me what would be best for each prompt. It would be greatly appreciated 🙂