<p>So I'm applying this year. I know I'm a bit early but I'm thinking about my personal statements so that I can hopefully rough draft a few during this summer.</p>
<p>I'd like to know what you guys wrote about. I have topics in mind (and I won't steal any of your ideas, I promise hahaha) but would like opinions, tips, and such. So for those of you who believe you had strong essays or got into schools, if you'd share that would be awesome. (:</p>
<p>Prompt #1
What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities and what you have gained from your involvement.</p>
<p>Prompt #2
Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?</p>
<p>don’t think about it until september (at the earliest!) for the following reasons:</p>
<p>a) you’ll psych yourself out…</p>
<p>b) i feel like it’d be really easy to misrepresent yourself if you start this early. you never know what might happen… what sort of inspiration / experience you’ll endure that might prompt YOUR perfect essay. </p>
<p>c) for now, toss ideas around… sure… but if you really start it in mid september, or thereabouts, you’ll still have PLENTY of time to do all of the necessary editing (spelling / grammar). </p>
<p>d) write a rough draft over the summer… F it… have a final draft by the end of summer, and i’m willing to bet that you’ll never use it. i wrote and finalized 4 ENTIRELY different essays for prompt 2 before writing a 5th, that i eventually submitted. the first 4 took 10 or 11 days, and the last one was written in a few short hours… i began prompt 1 drunk and on drugs at 2:30 am, the morning of the due date… </p>
<p>i discovered SO much about my intellectual aspirations, realized so many of my accomplishments that i’d previously overlooked, and i became far better able to articulate my position as an aspiring individual! all at the cause of being thrust into the MOST anxiety-inducing situation i’ve had the horror of dealing with. time won’t produce a piece of writing that wins the reader’s affection, or induces empathy. however, circumstance – the fervor you’ll surely feel as crunch time fast approaches – will.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, Philosophy major
applied:UCB, LA, SD, SB
accepted: LA, SD, SB
rejected: UCB — but i blame this on the 5 F’s, 1 D, 2 C’s and 9 W’s on my transcript. so (F)UC Berkeley</p>
<p>I believe that my essay was strong because I ASKED FOR HELP! Do not be afraid to show your personal statement to as many (qualified) people as possible. I had my English professor give me feedback, as well as my school’s UCB, UCLA and UCSB reps. They all had minor suggestions that really helped me fine tune what I was trying to get across. The UCSB rep (the last person to read it) actually found a small typo that no one else caught (yikes)! </p>
<p>I simply wrote about my interest and passion for my major and what I intend to do with my degree once I finish undergrad. I am a Media Studies/Comm major and I expressed my interest in pursuing a career in Journalism. </p>
<p>For the second prompt, I wrote about how challenging community college has been for me since I have been attending off and on for 10 years. I wrote about my 8.5 years of full-time work experience and that I know how difficult the business world is for people that do not have a college education. I was honest about my past mistakes (not being fully committed, getting way too many Ws because I put work before my studies, etc.) But I think that the real strength of my story stemmed from the fact that I made the choice to give up my “career” to follow my dreams and goals. </p>
<p>Focus on the future, not your past. You can make mention of any mistakes in the past, but no one is trying to admit you into a school by feeling sorry for you.</p>
<p>And the question isn’t what WILL you do in the future, but what ARE you doing to make the future that you dream of a reality.</p>
<p>I think it’s important to remember that we aren’t 5 years old anymore being asked what we want to be when we grow up. We’re adults who are in the process of creating a life for ourselves. </p>
<p>I think that the more work you are doing to make your dreams a reality, the better you look as an applicant.</p>
<p>Now that I’ve been admitted to Berkeley and had the chance to really get to know a lot of the older students I have a better perspective of Cal’s culture.</p>
<p>They really want you to have one goal (with some varied interests) and they want to see, on paper, how you are progressing to achieve that goal.</p>
<p>Education is NOT the only way that your goals will be met, so I do believe that it is important to show that you’ve been working to reach your achievements through other means.</p>
<p>Schools really like students with initiative. Anyone that can achieve by using original, creative means is a shoe-in for the UC’s…so long as you write about it in your personal statement!</p>
<p>Good luck! PM me if you have any personal questions.</p>
<p>I have already written the second one and I am going to write the first prompt this week. I don’t buy that BS that you should wait until the last minute. The reason I am going to a JC is because I used to wait until the last minute. I have revised the one I wrote a couple times already. Whenever I get an idea, I just go back to my computer and open up my doc, then see if I can fit it into what I have written already. Freakin’ thing is gonna be a masterpiece.</p>
<p>For the first prompt I talked about my experience in the Army while stationed in Korea. My unit had to provide oversight of the demonstrations, which turned violent (they were throwing rocks at me…dicks), against the expansion of our base which would include the demolition of a small farming town. My unit was also an M.I. unit, and we were involved in trying to track the North Korean nuclear missile tests in 2006. I talked about how being in the military allowed me to experience international politics first hand, albeit at a very low level, and that is where my interest in political science really took off. </p>
<p>In prompt 2 I just talked more about challenges I faced in the military. I talked about the difficulty of the Korean linguists course in military, and how it built confidence in my academic abilities. Previously, in high school, I had been really lazy and apathetic towards school. I also talked about unit manning shortages caused by the war in Iraq, and how I had to take over jobs designed for people many ranks above me, and how that continued to build confidence in my abilities, which I carried into college. </p>
<p>My only advice is to make it personal. Don’t be generic. I also agree with the guy who said to wait to write it. I waited until November because every time I thought about what to write about my ideas had changed. I didn’t want my paper to be all over the place with scattered thoughts.</p>
<p>Yeah, there’s no point in stressing. I typed mine up straight through in a few hours at the end of November. I’m a history major and I got into both UCSB and UCLA (the only schools I applied to). They aren’t doing a literary critique of your work, they’re just interested in who you are. And as Pinker and Dem said, you may have a completely different viewpoint in November. You may be a completely different person by November (okay, a bit dramatic, I know)! Take a breather and focus on your grades. That’s more important anyway.</p>
<p>i spent all day writing mine the day it was due. i don’t see a problem with writing rough drafts beforehand, though. it’s probably a good idea to get a head start on things. i’m just a horrible procrastinator. good luck!!!</p>
<p>i got a question about the UC personal statements.
i’m applying to different colleges with different majors, so how do I write about my intended major if the same essay goes to all these schools?</p>
<p>this is how i’m going to be applying:
UCLA, UCSB - English
Berkeley, UCSD - Communications</p>
<p>Ballet-Since both majors are related, it should be quite easy. What is it that you want to do after graduation? If you want to write, produce or get into journalism, you can easily talk about what you plan to do after grad rather than focus on the individual majors KWIM?</p>
<p>That’s what I did. I applied as a History major at UCLA, Comm major at UCSD and UCSB and Media Studies at Berkeley. I just talked about my interest in pursuing a career in journalism and it turned out quite well.</p>
<p>Ballet- Why on Earth would you apply to UCLA for English, but not Berkeley? I’m not saying you’re wrong to do so, just curious as to your reasoning.</p>
<p>Edel- The best advice I was given about writing a personal statement was to make sure it came across that I had a good understanding of myself. That I knew what I was capable of, and what I could motivate myself to do. Essentially, making sure my personal statement communicated this understanding.</p>
<p>And because someone else did:</p>
<p>English Major (3.43 GPA at CC)
Applied: UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, U Chicago
Accepted (Fall of 08): UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley</p>
<p>after graduation I want to get into journalism mostly, also maybe business, entertainment, or fashion. i’m very open because i’m not entirely sure on what I want to do yet.
yes i think i will just focus on journalism in the essay. i like investigative journalism and traveling around the world.</p>
<p>I’m more into communications than english. communications is impossible at ucla. my chances are better at berkeley.</p>
<p>I really don’t think essays matter that much. The UCLA rep told me she only cared that it wasn’t a complete joke. As long as you can string together a few interesting sentences and not stumble all over yourself, GPA is all that matters. I asked about extracurriculars too (since I had none) and she didn’t seem to think it was important.</p>
<p>^ Essay is very important. My essay was some what misleading so I had to appeal and was accepted. Don’t listen to Hijynx. He only got accepted to UCLA because he applied to HISTORY which accepts 50% of its applicants.</p>
<p>you guys seriously hate each other. Its funny…in a sad way. I hope when I am done getting accepted to my schools that I do not come on this website all the time.</p>
<p>Ballet-I would just apply to Comm/Media Studies for all of them, except UCLA. You can easily talk about your passion for research and writing and that you are planning to pursue a career in journalism after graduation. You don’t even have to mention the different majors in your essay since they are related.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that UCSB is heavily research/statistical analysis based, from what the prereqs are for comm there. It’ll mean I’d have to take stats. I hate math. I’d rather write, which is why I chose english for UCSB.
I stand by my previous major choices.</p>
<p>The simplest thing to consider for a GOOD admission essay are those defining moments and experiences that helped shaped your drive, goals and inspiration for the future.
Also what you intend to do with yourself after education; admissions LOVE to see that you have an idea of what it is you wish to pursue later on down the road with your education.</p>
<p>PS…essays are SOOO important…they can make or break your application if you are on the border.</p>