Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.
By default, the UCPIS is important because there are not many ways to evaluate applicants: no recommendations unless requested by a specific campus; no SAT or ACT scores. This leaves an applicant’s activity list (containing up to 20 activities); your transcript which you input into your application; and your four UCPISs.
For graduate school a statement of purpose for the admissions process is generally a requirement. There are, however, undergraduate schools that ask for a SOP.
The statement of purpose question can appear in a variety of forms. The University of Pennsylvania, has a 450-word SOP: “Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, how will you explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania?” Cornell has a 650-word SOP. University of Michigan’s is 550 words and University of Wisconsin, Madison, is 650.
A good way to gain a sense of how to approach this type of essay is with samples of essays that have successfully addressed this question. Here are portions of successful essays to give you a taste of some effective approaches.
There are no wrong approaches as long as the essay matches your interests with what the school is offering in a particular major. Make that connection well and you’re well on your way.
An essay prompt found often on applications is ‘Why us?’ Why do you want to come here and what will you do once you arrive?
One of the best ways to attack this question is to learn as much about the college as you can to really gain a sense of the place. If you can’t do this don’t waste the college admissions office time, and more importantly your own, by writing generalities about the school’s size, location or reputation.
Straight-A students from some of the best high schools in the country become unhinged at the thought of crafting a 600-word essay in response to such a prompt: “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you. Describe that influence.” (Recent Common Application, Question #3). It’s not surprising-- very few students learn the craft of essay writing. It’s become such a neglected art that Harvard, among many of the most selective schools, now requires all its undergraduates, without exception, to take an expository writing class. Knowing that the state of essay writing is in the doldrums, what might you do to attack this very daunting task?
After years of steady service, the UC Personal Statements are being retired, replaced by a set of Personal Insight Questions.
To inveterate college counselors in California there are likely twangs of nostalgia associated with losing, “Tell us the world you come from…” and coaxing a story out of an applicant to fill the page and expose his or her soul todiscerning, oftentimes, overloaded readers from the UC admissions offices.
The good news is that the new UC Personal Insight Questions might also serve to begin and structure the college application process.
Even an aspiring Stanford applicant with perfect test scores, a GPA of 4.46, research referenced in the New England Journal of Medicine, and the captain of her varsity golf team, started procrastinating when it came time for her application essays. Procrastination knows no bounds. In fact, recent research indicates three out of four college students label themselves procrastinators (Thriving in College, p326, Cuseo), of whom 25% have chronic tendencies. It’s a serious problem
Two leading theories explaining essay procrastination include:
If you go to the ‘California Colleges’ website dedicated to perfecting the Personal Statement for the UC Application, http://californiacolleges.edu/admissions/university-of-california-uc/personal-statement.asp, you’ll be told that
“The UC personal statement is a preview to the kind of writing you'll be doing in college and on college placement exams.
Unknown Audience: You will be writing for a community of strangers.
Writer-Determined Topic: You will pick the topic for your response.
Dig Deeper: Analysis and reflection are keys.”
Writing a decent college essay is not an easy task. Sometimes you run with an idea and, in the end, it doesn’t work as expected. You’re going to have to revise. Don’t fret: writing a good essay takes time and, by its very nature, it demands revisions. This is all part of the process. Even Harvard recognizes and stresses the importance of revisions. Revising is as fundamental as writing the introductory paragraph.
Laura Saltz of Harvard’s Writing Center has a handout that you can obtain online: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Revising.html, and it is indeed a useful tool as you go about revising your college essays.
