Empowering Your Essay: Make it Personal
In October the University of California application process opens its short window for applying to 9 top public universities in California. The UC system has the most prestigious universities that this country has to offer. And though there are 9 campuses that undergraduates may apply for, the ability to enter any of these campuses can be very challenging. The top three campuses, Cal Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego, have acceptance rates less than 11% of all applicants.
To be accepted to any of the campuses, the applicant must have:
Top competitive grades with success through a challenging curriculum that includes either AP classes or a rigorous IB curriculum.
An extracurricular list of achievements that demonstrate passion and success over the last four years or more
Essays that tell the applicant’s story of their ability to overcome barriers, demonstrate their passions, and showcase the rigor to be successful in the colleges they apply for and beyond.
Of course, if your child is not a senior, EYHCoach can help your student in all three categories. At this point, if your student is a senior, the only part of this formula that the student still has control over are the essays. Your child will be choosing 4 prompts of 350 words or less out of 8 essays. This is the opportunity to highlight who they are and the ability to demonstrate why they should be chosen over thousands of other applicants. To be successful, the applicant needs to tell their genuine story. Their story is about showing, not telling.
What to include in the college essay:
Think about why you want the readers to know your story?
How does your story demonstrate perseverance, and a lesson that highlights a growth minded individual?
How is your story unique against the other 21,000 students who may want your campus?
Finally, what have you learned and what will you offer the university to continue your journey?
As the applicant writes, keep in mind that the reviewers read hundreds of essays every day. If they can offer this essay 5 to 10 minutes of their time that is a plus. The readers have been hooked into who you are and who you will be at the University of California.
As the applicant creates their story, the prompt should demonstrate growth and quantitative results. The essay may take the reader on a journey through solid research, a sport or club that went beyond because of the applicant’s leadership, a situation where the student failed but then proceeded to demonstrate lessons learned and how those lessons have been applied and will be applied in college. The prompts should be personal, connectable, and factual. And whatever the student does, do not use artificial intelligence to write the essay.
Get support with your college admissions journey:
This should feel daunting because it is. EYH Coaching provides the partnership to explore and bring out the passion for this application process. It’s not too late to contact EYH Coaching services to empower your child’s story.