calculus09

The UCs require that applicants answer two essay prompts.
I was wondering...
Would it be bad to write about the same topic for both of these essays?

Nolita444

yes and no.

if you were to write about the same topic only for both, then yes.

but if you were to talk about both in each, but also with other things, then no.

for example, in my essays i had a broad theme for my first one and talked about the sports i did to support that topic and then for my second one i only talked about the sports i did.

carolyn

Think of it this way: You have 1,000 words to present yourself. Why would you want to waste half the words talking about the same topic twice? You must have more to say to an admissions committee than that, and this is your chance!

My suggestion for the UC essays (actually, for any essays) is to first fill out the rest of the application then thing long and hard about what else the admissions committee needs to know about you in order to make a fully informed decision.

alex994

Do the college essay prompts for the UC system mostly remain the same every year? Because on the website, it says that Personal Statement prompts have changed for 08 applicants leading me to believe that it changes every year. Can anyone answer whether or not it changes every year?

dearsky

I know that I'm going to sound super stupid for asking this question, but here goes:

What's the difference between the two essay prompts and the personal statement?

alex994

Yeah, I was wondering that too!

Nolita444

They just call the entire writing portion of your application your personal statement (i.e. the two essay prompts plus the section where you can say anything you want in regards to your application.)

dearsky

Oh okay thanks Nolita444!

rifelife

Hey, Guys.

I have a question about UC essay questions about personal statement.

Prompt #1 (freshman applicants)

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

Prompt #2 (all applicants)

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?

it says write the essay in 1000 words total.

So does that mean we have to write two separate essay about 500 words each?

I will deeply appreiciate about your responds.

Nolita444

yes, you write two seperate essays, and you can divide up the word count however you want for the two. they do suggest that the shorter of the two be no less than about 250 words though.

i know for mine personally i split it up as 700 for the first prompt and 300 for the second.

do keep in mind though that they sometimes change the prompts from year to year.

rifelife

Nolita444, I did the same way as you. : )

I wrote about 700 words for the first one and 300 words about the second one.

Which college are you applying to?

Nolita444

im actually going to be a freshman at ucsb in september.