<p>My college counselor was telling me today that the UC essays aren't like private school essays in that they're looking for how creatively you can write, that they're just looking for the regular essay format, and to make sure that you can convey your ideas well. Is this true, and if so, does that mean it's a bad idea to use a gimmick for one of the essays? Would it be better to just write a straightforward essay rather than using a gimmick?</p>
<p>Anyone? Any comments would be very much appreciated…</p>
<p>[University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html)</p>
<p>“Present your information and ideas in a focused, thoughtful and meaningful manner. Support your ideas with specific examples. A personal statement that is simply a list of qualities or accomplishments is usually not persuasive.”</p>
<p>I would say that is fairly true. You may not want to write something extremely profound and insightful with a great narrative or non-linear format because it simply won’t be appreciated as much as it would be at another school. That being said, you definetly do want to show your personality. When they say, “support ideas with specific examples”, they don’t mean this in the SAT essay way. They mean that if something completley changed your personal philosophies, explain how that happened.</p>
<p>But does the essay format itself have to be the general, intro, body paragraph, conclusion type? Or can I use a gimmick? By gimmick, I mean something like write a poem, a song, a story, something unconventional that doesn’t generally fall under the category of “essay”. Or would that be a bad idea for UC essays? Because I was under the impression that it’s generally ok, sometimes even good, for a private school essay.</p>