Puzzle Strategy for the UC Prompts

When it comes to the UC prompts, one of my most commonly asked questions is, “Hey Quetzal Mama, what’s a killer strategy for the Personal Insight prompts?”  Since students want the shortest answer possible, I give them the simplest strategy.  Think of the prompts like a puzzle – your 4-D puzzle.  You get four puzzle pieces to fully describe your personal background.  Because you get four, you’ve gotta pick four angles that tells the UC why you would be an awesome addition to the entering freshman class.

I know you’ve got 20 different selling points, but you’ve got to narrow it down and pick the top four that best exemplifies your key strengths.

That means, don’t write all four prompts using the same topic.  That would be four identical puzzle pieces – won’t fit.  And, don’t just focus on academic topics – because you are more than your academics.  Most importantly, don’t assume the UC’s know your angles just because they have your demographics, transcript, and test scores.

Alright, so what kinds of things should you tell them?  Here are several puzzle pieces to give you an idea of how to highlight your UC application.  These are only examples! Remember, you need to pick four angles:

The 4-D Puzzle

            Your Hustle – Everyone has 24 hours in a day, but only some students work those 24 hours.  You are one of them.  Do you take care of your younger siblings while juggling homework and extra-curriculars?  Do you lead the Mock Trial Team while earning A’s in AP Calculus and Captain of the Varsity Tennis team?  Do you work a part-time job to help your family make ends meet?  Then you’ve got your hustle on!  Tell the UC readers about your hustle.  You’re a go-getter and you make things happen.  They want to know this.  This puzzle piece works really well with Prompts #1, 4, 5, & 8.

            Your Outside of Class Time Stuff – How do you spend your time when the 3:05 bell rings?  Do you stay after and play sports?  Lead a club?  Ride your bike to the local elementary school to tutor 3rd graders in math?  Aside from after school, how do you spend your weekends?  Do you dance ballet folklorico?  Attend chess tournaments?  Compete in skateboarding competitions?  Use this prompt to share your extracurricular activities – which is a perfect fit for prompt # 7, but also for #1, 2, & 6.

            Your Academic Superstardom – You are a scholar, period.  Otherwise, you wouldn’t be applying to the University of California.  Seriously – did you know that only 20% of Latino students in California meet the qualifying criteria to even apply to a UC?  Now that you know you’re special, you’ve got to tell them about your awesomeness.  Now is not the time to be shy or humble.  Tell them why you took 7 AP courses.  Yeah, you could have taken the easy route, but you challenged yourself because your dream is bioengineering.  Or, tell them you took it upon yourself to take online courses in Molecular & Cell Biology.  Yep, because your heart is set on Medical School one day.  Whichever angle you take, just know they have your full transcript.  You don’t need to list your classes or grades.  But, although they have your transcript, they don’t know why you pushed yourself academically.  Tell them!  This topic works exceptionally well with prompts 3, 6, & 8.

            Your Cultural & Ethnic Stuff – If you belong to MEChA, Latinas Unidos, Latino Student Union, or any other cultural/political group that promotes your heritage and identify, then you’ve got a story they want to read.  This piece of the puzzle is important because it sets you apart from other California students who may not be culturally aware (or even care!).  Why does it matter?  Because the UC’s know you’ll bring a unique awareness and perspective to their classrooms, and that benefits all students.  This background information is especially important for students applying to UC campuses with some of the lowest numbers of underrepresented students (that means Latinos, African-Americans, or Native Americans), including UC San Diego and UC Berkeley.  Use this puzzle piece for Prompts #8, and even #2.

            Your Passion – How and why did you pick the major you intend to declare?  Why do you love it?  Why this major and none other?  How old were you when you figured out you would pursue a career that requires this major?  What have you done in your spare time related to this major?  Did you pursue summer enrichment programs?  Did you take a class at a community college?  Did you create an app where you used skills related to your major?  Use this puzzle piece to respond to several prompts including #1, 2, 3, 6, 7, & 8.

            Your Obstacle Courses – what challenges have you faced in your trajectory to college?  And please don’t say, “I got a C in Physics.”  We’re talking about real challenges like growing up in a single parent household; attending a low-resourced school that doesn’t offer AP or IB curriculum; Being first in your family to attend college.  Now those are real challenges.   The key here is not to cite a long list of challenges, or convey a whiney or victim persona.  List the challenge and provide a quick summary of the back story, and then tell them what you did to navigate the challenge.  That’s what they want to know, so cut to the chase.  This puzzle piece fits perfectly with Prompt # 5, but also with prompts #3, 4, & 8.

            Your Leadership Talents – First, remember that leadership is not defined in the iconic, “Class President” kind of way.  Leadership takes many shapes and forms.  Yeah, really.  If you’re in charge of the bills in your home, then you have financial leadership skills.  If you’re responsible for getting all of your siblings home on the bus, then you have team leadership skills.  If you serve as the Community Service Chair for your MEChA chapter, then you have organizational leadership skills.  Of course, the iconic things work well too – like Captain of the Cross Country Team, or President of the Pre-Med Society.  But other things like leading a fundraising event, or leading a protest rally in your city – those are also strong leadership examples.  Use this puzzle piece for Prompts # 1, 3, & 8.

            Now that you’ve got some puzzle pieces on your radar, you can customize your own puzzle.  The key is to present yourself as definitively as possible, by showing them four distinct pieces of your life puzzle.

            Hope you’re not puzzled anymore about the UC prompts.  Ouch, corny.  Sorry about that!  But get on it and write your prompts . . . they’re due in 11 weeks.

            —Quetzal Mama out!