The NEW Personal Insight Questions

University of California

2016

Why Are They Changing the Questions?● Lack of information with the Personal Statement

● Move toward direct questions which would result in less

guessing for the reader

● Give students the choice to select questions which are most

relevant to them

● Each question aligns to one or more of the comprehensive

review criteria.

What Are The Parameters For Responding to the Questions?

● 4 questions from 8 options.

● 350 word limit per response

● All questions have equal value

● Students can only respond to 4

What Are The Freshmen Questions?1) Describe an example of

your leadership

experience in which you

have positively influenced

others, helped resolve

disputes, or contributed

to group efforts over time.

● Doesn’t necessarily have to

be an academic/school

leadership role.

● This is really a 2 part

question: 1) How are you a

leader? 2) How has that

affected others?

Freshmen Questions Continued ...2) 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.

● Think about things other

than art. How has your

creative side affected your

life?

● If art is your creative side,

then it’s perfectly fine to

write about it.

Freshmen Questions Continued...3) What would you say is your

greatest talent or skill? How have

you developed and demonstrated

that talent/skill over time?

● Talent and skill are two different

aspects.

● Talent = gymnast, great athlete

● Skill = translator for family

● Add context to the answer

○ progression over time

○ focus on the talent and skill

throughout high school.

Freshmen Questions Continued...4) Describe how you have taken

advantage of a significant

educational opportunity or worked

to overcome an educational barrier

you have faced.

● For example, maybe there was

something academically missing

at your high school (took away

honors classes, no more computer

classes). How did that limit you?

● This should not be a “feel sorry

for me” answer. Direct your

response to how you made it work

for you.

Freshmen Questions Continued...5) 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?

● In this response, be a solution

student. Tell them what your

challenge was and how you

overcame it.

● For example, many suffer from

depression, anxiety, learning

disability, physical disability,

parent death etc...

Freshmen Questions Continued...6) Describe your favorite

academic subject and explain

how it has influenced you.

● What do you LOVE?

● If you don’t have a

favorite subject, then this

is not your question to

answer.

Freshmen Questions Continued...7) What have you done to

make your school or

community a better place?

● Community is open to the

student’s interpretation

(team, program on

campus, entire school,

church group, etc…)

● Elaborate what you have

done within the

community.

Freshmen Questions Continued...8) What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying

to UC?

● Do not assume you have to answer this question because of the content of it.

Remember that all questions hold equal value.

● Don’t answer this question if it can be answered in another one. For instance, if

you’ve faced a barrier in your life, then you should answer question #4 or #5.

● Think about what you have NOT shared yet.

● This is NOT an additional place to continue a response from another question.

● Maybe you’re an Undocumented Student. Maybe you translate for your family.

Those might be a reason to answer this question.

What Do The UCs Want?1) Greater authenticity - they want the student voice.

2) No more guessing. The personal statement lended itself to

writing structure, flowery sentences, grammar and more.

UCs just want the facts.

3) More information about the student. Who are they and the

content of their accomplishments. “My” and “I” statements

are encouraged.

4) More relevant information that best reflects individual

circumstances.

How Can We Help Our Students?1) Do not overly focus on style or structure. Admissions does NOT grade on

style (creativity, entertainment) nor grammar. They place value on

content.

2) Does the student make his/herself the focal point? “I” and “My”

3) Is the student providing clarity, depth and content?

4) If you are editing a student’s questions, read the responses with the

student’s transcript and brag sheet. Look at the whole picture as the UCs

would.

5) Encourage the student to stick to the facts and think, “Will a stranger

understand me and the context of my situation?”

6) Remind students that the freshmen review is comprehensive so these

responses are filling in the gaps of their application.