What should I focus my UC PIQs on based on my applicant profile?

Applying to College
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I’m applying as an out of state first year! Major differs based on school but these are the majors / minors I’m applying to, all social sciences

  • Political Science
  • International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Econ
  • Public Health
  • Minor in Spanish

I have straight As for all four years

3.9 UW GPA

4.13 UC CAPPED GPA

AP English, AP stats, AP gov, AP art, AP calc

College sociology, college ethics, college psychology

ACADEMIC:

Most notable things about my academic profile are that I’ve taken 6 years of social studies / social science credits (which matches my major path) and 5 years of fine arts credits across mediums and into advanced art classes. The social studies aspect is certainly my academic interest and what I am most passionate about making an actual career out of. Meanwhile, art is huge part of my individual identity, how I express myself, and how I continue to learn about and challenge myself.

EXTRACURRICULARS:

  • I am a leader at two student voice policy advocacy groups. One is state-wide and focuses on bringing student voices across the state together and empowering students to understand education policy.
  • The other is international and I was a co-founder and original leader focusing on creating policy to require women’s history education in high school curriculum.
  • I also volunteered on a local campaign for state senate which included canvassing in the community.
  • I was selected for a Harkness leadership program, which is essentially structured academic discussion and I have now been trained to both lead these discussions and participate effectively.
  • I have a part time job.

Please give me advice on which PIQs I should use to strengthen my application! Please ask questions. I have more personal experiences I could write about but I’m unsure whether something more personal or something emphasizing the things that are already displayed on my application would be stronger? I don’t have any national awards or a crazy amount of APs or anything so I really want to use the PIQs as effectively as possible but I don’t really know what they look for with this part of the application.

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A bit orthogonal to your question, but I want to make sure you are aware as a OOS student you are going to be full-pay. The UCs do not provide need-based Financial Aid to OOS students, they admit them specifically to gain the $40K/year extra OOS students pay. Nor is there any path to ever gaining in-state tuition. If your parents can afford it then as a CA resident I welcome your future contributions to the UC system!

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What do you want the UC’s to know about you beyond what you have listed in the academic and activities section’s of the application?

Why do you have a passion for the social sciences and how that motivates you?

How has your leadership positions impacted others and yourself and what you learned from the experiences?

Do you have other hobbies or activities that enjoy in your free time? Are they creative?

What skills have you developed while working your part-time job? How have you applied these skills to your every day life?

The UC’s like to see leadership, community service, collaboration, overcoming challenges etc…. So select the PIQ prompts that highlight your strengths.

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This.

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Yes, I’ve had this conversation with my parents and have considered all the financial aspects!

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Including the knowledge that these are large PUBLIC universities that rely on State funds to sustain labor, maintenance, and compliance with State regulations.

There are large classes and the expected “red tape” within your 4 years there. Competition for on-site jobs or resources can be brutal.

Your $90k per year is fundamental to the State’s coffers and your parents need to be okay with the possibility that the ROÍ (return on investment) may not materialize.

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For your PIQs utilize the many free resources that are on the interwebs:

Each UC will also have some of their own resources, here’s UCB:

A google search will also bring up some good resources at college essay guy. com too.

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