Tips for writing powerful college application essays, including the UC Insight Questions

1. Getting to Know You
Fall 2020
Tips for Writing Powerful College
Application Essays
Rebecca Joseph
getmetocollege@gmail.com
@getmetocollege

2. College Four By Four Plan
Four Cal States
No essays except for EOP and Honors
Colleges
Now $70 per campus
Four Privates
Common Application and
supplements
https://getmetocollege.org/what-
colleges-look-for/2019-fall-diversity-
visit-programs
https://www.collegegreenlight.com/
Four UCs
Four insight Questions
Additional Information and Questions
20 Activities
Four Scholarships
https://roybal-
allard.house.gov/uploadedfiles/stude
nt_resource_guide_2019-2020.pdf
https://www.maldef.org/resources/sc
holarship-resource-guide/

3. The Role of Essays
Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.

4. Essays Are One Piece of The
Applicant’s Quilt
Test
Scores
Grades
Rigor of
Coursework
ActivitiesRec Letters
Unique
passions
and
potential
Demonstrated
Interest

5. Colleges Are Not Looking For…

6. University of California

7. What the UCS Look At..
• About You
• Campus and Majors
• Academic History
• Test Scores
• Activities and Awards
• Scholarships and
Programs
• Personal Insight
Questions

8. Activities and Awards
—20 activities max, 6 categories
• Award or honor: We want to know about the awards and honors
you've received that mean the most to you.
• Educational preparation programs: Any programs or activities that
have enriched your academic experiences or helped you prepare for
college.
• Extracurricular activity: These could include hobbies, clubs, sports
or anything else you haven't had the chance to tell us about.
• Other coursework: These are courses other than those required for
UC admission (courses that do not fit in UC’s "a-g" subject areas).
• Volunteering / Community service: These are activities you've
donated time and effort to without getting paid.
• Work experience: This is for telling us about any paid jobs or paid
internships you've had.

9. Honors
• Honors
• What are the eligibility requirements for this award or
honor? *
• For example: How are award recipients chosen? How many
people are selected to receive the award? Is there an
application or nomination for the award? (250 characters.)
• What did you do to achieve this award or honor? *
• We'd like to understand what it took - on your part - to
achieve this award. For instance: Were there multiple
competitions that you had to participate in? How much time
did you dedicate to winning this award? (350 characters)

10. Education Preparation Programs
• Education Preparation Program
• Briefly describe the program. * (350 characters)
• Think about the program's main focus, your experience, and
what you accomplished and learned while participating in the
program.

11. Extracurricular Activities
• Activity
• What did you do? *
• Think about your experience, and what you accomplished and
learned. We’d also like to know if you’ve held a leadership
role, which can mean more than just a title — it can mean
being a mentor to others, acting as a point-person in charge of
a specific task, or taking a lead role in organizing an event or
project. (350 characters)

12. Other Coursework
• Other coursework
• Briefly describe the course. *
• What program or school offered the course? Also, think about
describing the major themes or topics the course covered, as
well as what knowledge or skills you learned. (350 characters)

13. Community Service
• Community Service
• Please describe the organization, program, school or group.
*
• Consider what kind of work the organization does: What’s the
reason the organization exists today? How does it help a
certain community or population? (250 characters)
• What did you do? *
• Think about your experience, and what you accomplished and
learned while volunteering. We’d also like to know if you’ve
held a leadership role, which can mean more than just a title
— it can mean being a mentor to others, acting as a point-
person in charge of a specific task, or taking a lead role in
organizing an event or project. (350 characters)

14. Work
• Work
• Please briefly describe the company or organization where
you worked. * (250 characters)
• Consider describing the industry, the size of the company or
organization, or its main focus.
• What were your job responsibilities? * (350 characters)
• How have you used or will you use your earnings? (250
characters)

15. Two Places For More
Information
• Academics (End of Academics ,550
characters)
• If there's anything else you want us to
know about your academic history, you
can do so in the space below. But
remember, you should use this space
only if you want to describe anything
that you have not had the opportunity
to include elsewhere in this section (for
example: a break in attendance, poor
grades in a particular course or year,
specific information about your school
environment or policies that affect your
academic record or choices for classes).
• International applicants: If you selected
Other as your school's grading system,
please explain the grading system here.
• Additional Comments (End of Personal
Insight Questions, 550 words)
• If there's anything else you want us to
know about you, now's your chance. But
remember, you should use this space
only if you want to describe anything
that you have not had the opportunity
to include elsewhere in the application.
This shouldn't be an essay, but rather a
place to explain unusual personal or
family circumstances, or anything that
may be unclear in other parts of the
application.

16. Personal Insight Questions
• What do you want UC to know about you?
Here’s your chance to tell us in your own
words.
• Directions
• You will have 8 questions to choose from. You
must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
• Each response is limited to a maximum of 350
words.
• Which questions you choose to answer is
entirely up to you: But you should select
questions that are most relevant to your
experience and that best reflect your
individual circumstances.
• Keep in mind
• All questions are equal: All are given equal
consideration in the application review
process, which means there is no advantage
or disadvantage to choosing certain questions
over others.
• There is no right or wrong way to answer
these questions: It’s about getting to know
your personality, background, interests and
achievements in your own unique voice.

17. Fall 2021 Prompts
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.
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.
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you
developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant
educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier
you have faced.

18. 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?
6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe
how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of
the classroom.
7. What have you done to make your school or your
community a better place?
8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from
other candidates applying to the University of California?

19. •“Think of it as
your interview
with the
admissions
office. Be open.
Be reflective.
Find your
individual voice
and express it.”

20. Sample Responses
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over
time?
I joined Pali’s Moot Court program last year as the only new member among a group of seasoned participants fearing
that I would not compare. Of course I overlooked how I had been developing my argumentation skills since I was
blessed with a younger sister and had debated proposals in Youth and Government since ninth grade.
In preparation for my first Moot Court competition, I devoted countless hours to studying case law and writing my
speech. In the months before the statewide competition, I practiced my speech dozens of times before a fake justice
panel. In Moot Court participants compete as a Petitioner, Respondent, and Justice, meaning simply that everyone
argues both sides of a case and then presides over the debaters. To excel, I have to know the case law like the palm of
my hand, create completely original arguments, and respond very quickly to questions.
During this first statewide competition, I was arguing issue 1 and 2 while my partner was supposed to argue issue 3,
but my skills were put to the test when my partner failed to show up. An hour before giving my speech, I was forced to
learn the entirety of issue 3 and create unique arguments for it.
Having to work within such a demanding time limit and then present before a panel of six scrupulous justices, I
learned that my eloquence and demeanor held up under pressure. Even without my partner, I won 1st place Petitioner
and 1st place justice in California.
Even since then, I’ve continued working to better myself, and six months later my new 2-person team competed in the
national Moot Court competition at Princeton. Despite the sweltering heat, we kept our composure round after round
and won third out of 500 teams across the nation.
By participating in Moot Court, I have advanced my greatest talent: debating, which harnesses my strengths in public
speaking, spontaneity, and innovative idea development.

21. Sample Responses
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.
I have always loved singing and problem solving. Everyone always says that singing is an art and that problem solving is
a science, but after I joined Acapali, Pali’s a cappella group, I finally found a perfect forum to explore both disciplines
together.
It is actually quite interesting how such an artistic process takes the form of an experiment. To arrange a song we
listen to the material and experiment with hypothetical sounds. Once we go through a trial and error process of
choosing syllables and vowels to replace instruments we all gather around a big whiteboard and draw various charts
to create the perfect song sequence. Often times we undergo the strenuous collaborative process of taking two
completely different songs and mashing them together.
Within the group, everyone has an equal chance to pitch ideas and direct the group towards their vision. We
frequently marvel at the fact that we work without a leader yet efficiently and productively. The idea of equal
collaboration has become a shocking concept due to the working models we see in the world today. Without one
reigning force, I have learned that we still have the capacity to work collectively if everyone utilizes the tool of
listening.
In fact, listening has become the most important aspect of a group like Acapali. We all listen to each other's voices for
ideas and for blend when we actually sing. I didn’t have the ability to harmonize before I joined the group. Solely from
the creative process of constructing multi-level musical arrangements, I have expanded my repertoire to include upper
and lower harmonies, musical transposition, and instrumental vocal simulation.
The best thing about this art is that I get to share it with people. After we develop the perfect piece over a lot of
heated discussion and collaboration, we continue the work on a stage in front of people who appreciate what we have
created. The stimulation never stops even when everything is perfect because on stage we are completely focused on
the group and keeping tempo, pitch, and blend.
Who says an art cannot be science?

22. Sample Responses
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?
When I was 14-years-old, my dad was diagnosed with severe depression and became suicidal. Within
the space of two months, my entire life changed. Soon after the diagnosis while my father was in and
out of programs, our family had to move out of our house, and my parents separated. During this
time, all I could think about was the memories I had with my dad like the Dodger games he used to
take me to and his unique laugh when I would tell him a joke. It shocked me to think that my then
five-year-old brother Joey would not have these same memories that I had. Rather than letting my
dad’s illness affect my aspirations in life, I believe that my dad’s illness allowed me to fully mature as
a person.
With my father no longer able to support the family, my mom began work, and I took on a bigger
responsibility as an older brother. For a while, I tried to replicate my dad’s persona to my brother so
he would get the same amazing experience that I had with my dad growing up. However, it was quite
difficult as Joey did not understand why his dad could not be with him anymore. My approach shifted
during the summer of 10th grade when I became a counselor at Camp Harmony, a non-profit that
sends underprivileged kids to camp. I realized that just as it was unsuccessful for me to act like a
father to Joey, the kids at camp did not want me to be a fatherly figure to them. However, they
needed a brother, and I knew I could be that.
After camp, I started to be a better role model to my brother which helped him understand our
situation much better. I have returned to Camp Harmony two more summers and serve on their teen
board. While I would do anything to have my dad back as he once was, I believe that in overcoming
his absence, I became a stronger person for my family and community.

23. Sample Responses
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
My freshman year of high school, I began volunteering for the Human Rights Watch Student Task Force club at my
school. In this student-led branch of Human Rights Watch, this nonpartisan service club’s mission is to fight human
rights injustices all around the globe. The club takes on various initiatives throughout the school year and organizes
events in order to raise awareness within the community and take action against these human rights violations.
Throughout my four years in this club, I had the honor of becoming president my junior year and have led such events
myself.
For example, last year, I helped organize an exhibit about the lack of humanity in the treatment of asylum seekers
crossing the Mexican-American border. This event, which took place in my school’s auditorium, set up multiple
stations around which people rotated to inform themselves on this issue. The various stations covered topics such as
conditions on the border from the Mexican side, the reasons for which refugees immigrate illegally, border angels, and
more. I led the station about family separation and detention centers.
The event was extremely successful, that is, until the last group of kids arrived at my station. As I began to present
facts and statistics about these centers, the students quickly began insulting the exhibit, citing politics and partisan
beliefs. “Why should we care?” they asked mockingly. After some thought, I responded: “The reason this matters is
that if we forget politics for an instant, asylum seekers are humans, just like you and me, except unlike us, they must
struggle for the right to exist.”
In times of sorrow, turmoil, and pain, many people still take the world they were born into for granted. We isolate
ourselves in our own worries, forgetting to be grateful for all of our blessings. I am not one of those people. Through
my work with Human Rights Watch, I have learned to remain grounded and aware of the privileges we hold and
simultaneously to use this privilege to help those who need it most in my community.

24. Sample Responses
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
My passion for social justice first developed through my participation in Teen Court. I relished the opportunity to use
both my intellect and compassion to help people in my community.
After two years of volunteering as a juror in Teen Court, I wanted to take my social justice activism to the next level. I
had witnessed the deeply entrenched inequality in my hometown of Los Angeles and felt I needed to do my part to
help ameliorate this issue. While searching for ways to continue my efforts in the area of criminal justice, I discovered
the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent. I reached out to the founder of the clinic and asked whether she
would allow a high-schooler to intern at the Innocence Project over the summer. To my surprise, she said yes!
As an intern at the clinic for the past two summers, I have dedicated myself to the Innocence Project’s goal of
exonerating those who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Los Angeles. I spent my summers corresponding with
prison inmates and assisting in criminal investigations. In working so closely with prison inmates, I experienced first-
hand how broken the criminal justice system really is. I witnessed the toll it takes on individuals, families, and
communities, and this inspired me to keep coming back to the clinic each day to help make my community a better
place.
Between my efforts in Teen Court and with the Innocence Project, I believe that I have done what I can to
help influence a shift in the justice system away from punishment and towards rehabilitation and prevention
in my community. Furthermore, by seeking justice for individuals whom the system has treated extremely
unfairly, I have hopefully impacted my community in a positive way. My experience at the Innocence Project
was very educational and informative, but it was also deeply rewarding. I plan to return to the clinic again
this coming summer, as there is still a lot of work to be done. As Laurie Levenson, founder of the Loyola Law
School Project for the Innocent, says best, “there are no disposable people.”

25. Sample Responses
6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or
outside of the classroom.
Last year, my United States History class inspired me, especially our end-of-year research paper, in which I connected
my academic and service passions. For the past three years, I have volunteered for A Sense of Home, an organization
that furnishes Section 8 apartments for kids who have aged out of the foster care system. I have also worked at Camp
Harmony, a camp for homeless and foster care children. Curious about the origins of the foster care system, I spent
months researching, studying, and forming my own opinions on the inception of the often-broken system.
During my research, I learned about the Orphan Trains, a late-nineteenth century precursor of the modern foster care
system. I read primary and secondary sources, including Marilyn Irvin Holt’s The Orphan Trains, which unsettled me
the most. It powerfully portrayed the brutal upheaval that urbanization brought to 19th century American families,
resulting in 500,000 children being abandoned or living with single or poor parents. Seeking to solve this crisis, a
number of aid organizations came together and sent more than 250,000 East Coast children on trains out West to be
adopted by farming families and taken in by religious institutions. The personal accounts, stories, journals, and
pictures of the children forcibly shipped out West will forever be etched into my mind. For the culmination of my
research, I wrote an extensive paper that, on my history teacher’s suggestion, I submitted to The Concord Review.
I plan to devote the rest of my life to reshaping and modernizing the foster care system. Every child, with or without
parents, is equal and deserves a chance to live in a nurturing home. I’m hoping that, through research and awareness,
I can inspire others to help me fix this critically important yet flawed program. In college, I seek more opportunities to
seamlessly combine my academic and social passions. With interdisciplinary classes and committed professors, I could
receive mentoring and support as well as develop an interdisciplinary project that advances my academic and
advocacy passions.

26. Sample Responses
8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?
I believe I stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California because I am dedicated
simultaneously to improving the individual problems of teenagers and to creating multiple avenues for teenagers to
seek and receive support.
For the past three years, I have volunteered as a listener at Teen Line, a nationally recognized, confidential peer-to-
peer call in and email hotline. Time and time again, I connect with distressed teenagers, whether they have just fought
with a friend, suffer from bullying, or just feel blue. Serving as a safe haven hopefully helps the callers and has most
definitely changed my life. I am now a mental health advocate and activist because I value the power of empathetic
listening.
Last spring I was asked to mentor the incoming Teen Line training group. Not only did this experience connect me to
my passion for psychology and helping the community, but it also prompted me to bring peer mental health support
to my high school, because I have met many students in crisis in my community. Although I initially experienced
administrative opposition, when I demonstrated the power of Teen Line, I received approval. I created “NormanAid
Mail,” an email service that advises students in crisis and specifically refers them to school resources.
Realizing I wanted to reach additional struggling teens, I needed to become proactive. Therefore, I began the
“NormanAid Monthly Mental Health Series,” thematic activities for students, families, and teachers. In addition, I
overcame my fear of public speaking and began addressing groups of parents, therapists, and even Los Angeles Police
Department cadets. For each community, I tailor my message and observe how desperate they are for additional
powerful strategies to help the increasing number of emotionally distraught teens.
My work is never-ending. Currently, I am about to be featured in a national campaign--Different Is Beautiful-- to
highlight the power of celebrating our differences and erasing stereotypes for students in middle and high school. I
don’t envision my commitment to expanding and depending mental health support to adolescents to ever end.

27. Sample Responses
8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?
No challenge has come close to the challenges and difficulties the death of my mother created. From a young age, I
was extremely attached to her. Deeply pious, she instilled within me a sense of religiosity that she expressed by
engaging with our Muslim community.
In June 2015, my mother's breast cancer worsened to a state where my father--a physician--told me that this was it.
After she passed away, I was traumatized. I had begun to think that life was meaningless, and no longer cared about
things.
To get over this seemingly insurmountable obstacle, I turned to the community dear to my mother and me: religion. It
seemed apt that in her absence I would turn to the community that brought her such strength.
The constant offers of condolences, support, and encouragement from members of my community played a central
role in my emotional recovery. Parents, family-friends, and even people I barely knew came up to me to show them
that we were in this together. Since my dad worked full time and traveled overseas on service missions, I often leaned
on my community. For example, one night when my grandmother had chest pains, a community member, a doctor,
helped me understand the different hospital tests and processes.
Gathering together in a central place of worship, praying, eating, and socializing together gave me a sense of solidarity
and connection with my fellow members. The connection between my faith and me--and by extension my fellow
faithful--gave me the strength to keep working hard--in life and school. Through my continued commitment to my
religious community, I honor my mother and work to fulfill her wishes to get a strong education and remain faithful.
Last year, to give back, I organized a clothing drive that collected more than 300 sets of clothes to needy families in
Pakistan.
Talking with the people she talked with, remembering how they were there for my mother when she was sick,
remembering how they were there for me when I was mourning demonstrate how my community helped me
overcome my greatest challenge.

28. Fall 2021 EOP Questions
Answers to the following questions will help us determine your motivation
and preparation to undertake college work. Please answer as precisely and
honestly as possible. Use complete sentences and avoid responses such as
“yes” or “no.”
• List any volunteer, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which
you are or have been involved in the past two years.
• Why would you like to attend college? Discuss your career and personal
goals. Are there any particular circumstances, school experiences, or
persons that influenced your preparation or motivation to attend
college (e.g., cultural/financial background, family, teachers, schools you
attended)? Please explain.
• Briefly discuss your academic background. Did you utilize any additional
support at your high school, such as tutoring? Do your grades in high
school and/or college reflect your academic ability or potential? 4
• Briefly describe your family’s economic background. Include information
about your financial challenges.
• Please tell us more about yourself. Is there any additional information
you would like EOP to consider in determining your admission to the
program?

29. The Common Application

30. Fall 2021 Common Application Prompts
• 1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so
meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this
sounds like you, then please share your story.
• 2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later
success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did
it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• 3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What
prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• 4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an
intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of
personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and
what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
• 5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of
personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• 6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose
all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when
you want to learn more?
• 7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already
written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

31. Sample Essay
On “Wacky Hair Day,” two braids looped around my head like huge ears, ponytail pointing
toward the sky – a hairstyle that would makeany citizen of Whoville envious. I loved Spirit
Week.
But when “Nerd Day” came around, I couldn’t find it in myself to wrap a bandaid around a pair
of glasses I didn’t actually need. My peers pulled on suspenders and fastened bow-ties, but I
opted out: I didn’t want to make fun of smart people. I wanted to be one. When I recruited a
group of fellow “nerds” to ask the administrators why it was acceptable to mock members of
the student body, they discontinued Nerd Day the following year.
Something had awoken in me: I was only 4’4”, yet I made a difference.
In middle school, I expanded my advocacy to fighting for my gender. One day after third
period, a forty-something-year-old man judged whether my skirt touched my fingertips. With
a shake of his head, the principal sent me off to the locker room: dress code violations meant
wearing PE shorts the rest of the day, a “scarlet letter” for twelve-year-olds. I was branded
“inappropriate” because I had worn a skirt one-half inch too short. Every girl met that fate at
least once, though my outrage crescendoed when I discovered no one questioned boys’ attire.
I don’t remember how I learned about petitions, but I created one to permit girls to wear
leggings. With 104 signatures (of the 120 students in my grade), my petition worked.
In high school, my passion turned to teen mental health. During the summer between 9th and
10th grade, I began training for Teen Line, where for the past three years, I’ve responded to
phone calls and texts from teens in crisis. One thing I noticed right away was how teens often
faced preventable crises and traumas at school. Knowing my own school was not immune, I
set out to take action to address this problem.

32. I came up with a plan to adapt a part of Teen Line to my school, pitching to my dean an
anonymous email system in which teens could reach out to and engage with trained students
(under the supervision of a counselor). Unfortunately, my school administrators could not sort
through some legal liability issues that other schools had not found problematic. I knew this
program could be immensely impactful – I had surveyed students and found overwhelming
support – but the school denied my further appeals.
Saying that I was disappointed would be an understatement, but this rejection ultimately
helped me realize that mental health at Brentwood was a bigger issue than I alone could
solve.
Determined to make an impact, I approached the middle school’s human development
teacher and presented a new idea: what if we attempted to address mental health before high
school? I’m proud that now, twice a month, I lead middle school classes that provide students
with a safe forum to share their thoughts and listen to those of others. While I know I cannot
address every single student’s problems, my work helps teens feel heard and seen, which I
believe to be an imperative step in the right direction.
Back in elementary and middle school, I primarily railed against issues that directly impacted
me. But in high school, I’ve looked beyond myself to help others. And this year, as a “Peer
Leader,” I have the opportunity to nurture, support and guide freshmen. I do so with the same
enthusiasm I once brought to “Wacky Hair Day.” I may no longer dress up like Cindy Lou Who,
but I still believe that my work increases “spirit.” I use my voice to empower others to endure,
to fight, and to advocate for themselves and others.

33. Throughout my initial efforts, I responded to individuals who sought help. Realizing I wanted to
reach additional struggling teens, I needed to become proactive as well. Therefore, I began the
“NormanAid Monthly Mental Health Series,” thematic activities for students, families, and
teachers. During the most memorable event, actors from my school reenacted different scenes
at a “reality party” to which the police, counselors, and I responded. In addition, I overcame
my fear of public speaking and began addressing groups of parents, therapists, and even Los
Angeles Police Department cadets. For each community, I tailor my message, and observe how
desperate they are for additional powerful strategies to help the increasing number of
emotionally distraught teens.
Over my high school education, I have received an indescribable sense of appreciation after
speaking to teens about their conflicts, addressing groups of parents about mental health, or
seeing high participation in the mental health aid events. These feelings constantly motivate
me to continue with my efforts to helping teenagers with their endeavors.
My work is never-ending, and now I am developing a mental health curriculum through the
peer mental health club I run at school. I plan on promoting the message that we must do
more to help teens in crisis as I reach adulthood. I don’t envision my commitment to
expanding and depending support to ever end. Perhaps training more peer counselors will
reduce the problem. Perhaps reading and responding to emails will save another life. Perhaps
all of my efforts to reduce teenage traumas will create larger care communities. My goal is to
turn these perhaps examples into expanded realities.

34. Each College’s Additional Essays Differ

35. USC

36. USC=CommonApp + 2AdditionalShortEssays
• 1. 250 word max. Pick one.
• USC believes that one learns best when interacting with people of
different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Tell us about a
time you were exposed to a new idea or when your beliefs were
challenged by another point of view.
• Describe something outside of your intended academic focus about
which you are interested in learning.
• What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding
you?

37. Short USC Sample
As a Latina, I take great pride in my culture and felt a desire to reconnect with my roots and
give back while doing so. Eager to help other young Latinx students, I began volunteering with
Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), an educational non-profit located in downtown Los Angeles. The
underprivileged youth who I mentor and coach at HOLA come from mostly Latinx backgrounds
like myself. Often speaking in Spanish, I have developed special bonds with them and feel
more united with my heritage.
By engaging these children through activities such as soccer and art, I concentrate on elevating
their self-worth and encourage positive forms of self-expression. As a role model to these
impressionable youth, I motivate and empower them to reach their full potential. Aware of
the struggles facing adolescents, including the rise in mental health illness and bullying, I reach
from my own personal and volunteer experiences to offer empathy and support. My lifelong
involvement playing soccer has been an added perk in improving their athletic skills, which
helps boost their overall self-confidence. It is so gratifying to see more of the youngsters,
especially the girls, developing the courage to participate.
Watching these kids blossom has been rewarding and shown me the power of advocacy in
underserved communities. I am honored to have gained their trust and optimistic that they
will have a promising future. I hope that my efforts guiding them will prove as valuable to
them as it has been to me.

38. USC 2nd Supplement
2. Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at
USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice
major selections. (250 word limit) (Required. 250 word max,
Paste in)

39. Sample

40. Sample
I have many academic interests, but my main interests are in sociology and
economics. Fortunately, at USC, I would have a unique opportunity to pursue an
interdisciplinary social science major (economics emphasis). This would enable me to
bridge the fields of sociology and economics while also adding flavors of
anthropology, political science, and psychology to my course of study. While I realize I
cannot apply directly to this major, I would be eager to make the transition if
admitted.
I am fascinated by economics. To expand this kindling interest of mine, I would be
eager to take classes such as “Public Finance” and “Financial Markets.” From these
classes and others like them, I hope to gain an interdisciplinary knowledge of the
impact that economic institutions and money have on the economy and on society as
a whole. USC also offers me an incredible opportunity to take my studies abroad for a
year at the London School of Economics.
In addition to economics, I am also very interested in studying sociology and law.
Fortunately, USC possesses all the resources necessary for me to explore the judicial
system and current social justice issues. At Dornsife, I hope to take classes like
“Economic Analysis of Law” and “The Political Economy of Institutions” to learn about
the impact of law on society, connecting the disciplines of economics and sociology
through a legal studies lens.
I am confident that with a degree from USC I will have a strong foundation in the
social sciences and will be able to shape my future for years to come.

41. Essays=Opportunity
•Share
•Reflect
•Stand Out

42. Before All Essays: Strategic Planning

43. Organization Matters

44. Before Common App Long Essay:
Brainstorming Strategies

45. Before School Specific Essays

46. Through: Guided Questions

47. Through: Revising and Revising

48. Beyond: Completing The Puzzle

49. Contact Dr. Joseph
• @getmetocollege
• All College Application Essays
• www.allcollegeessays.org
• getmetocollege@gmail.com
• rjoseph@calstatela.edu