Rebecca Joseph, Sylvia Juarez, and Juan Villegas present on the UC Personal Insight Questions at HECA 2017 in Long Beach, June 21, 2017

1. Truly Insightful: The Multiple
Uses of the UC Personal
Insight Questions
1. Rebecca Joseph, Ph.D., IEC,
getmetocollege@gmail.com
2. Sylvia Juarez, IEC, Former CAL
Admissions Officer and Current
Reader
juarezconsulting@gmail.com
3. Juan Villegas, Associate Director of Admissions
at UC Merced jvillegas@ucmerced.edu
https://tinyurl.com/heca2017ucinsightquestions

3. 5
Student Preparation
Research Campuses Early
Gather Materials
Brainstorm
Apply Broadly
Ask for Advice and Feedback
Email Communication is Critical

4. How Applications are Reviewed

5. 7
Requirements Versus Selection
Every UC Campus
1. Receives the same
application from
2. Reviews for minimum
requirements
3. Reviews for
admission
individually using
content of the
application

6. Campuses Look For
• Strong grades, test scores & course preparation
• An inclusive educational experience
Assess Student Within Context
• Educational environment
• Available resources and opportunities
The Full Application
Not just the Personal Insight Questions
8
Comprehensive Review

7. 9
Comprehensive Review
• Grade-Point Average
• Test Scores
• Courses
Completed/Planned
• Honors Courses
• Top 9% Local Context
(ELC)
• Quality of Senior-Year
Program of Study
• Academic Opportunities
in California High Schools
• Performance in Academic
Subject Areas
• Achievements in Special
Projects
• Improvement in Academic
Performance
• Special Talents,
Achievements, and
Awards
• Participation in
Educational Preparation
Programs
• Academic
Accomplishment Within
Life Experiences
• Geographic Location

8. The Personal Insight Questions

9. Each question aligns to one or more of the 14 comprehensive
review factors that campuses consider in their admissions
decisions.
• Freshmen must choose 4 out of 8 questions
• Transfers must answer 1 and then choose 3 out of 7
questions
• Maximum of 350 words for each response
• All questions have equal value; there is no advantage or
disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others
https://tinyurl.com/heca2017ucinsightquestions
33
The Personal Insight Questions

10. 34
The 2017 and 2018 Freshman
Personal Insight Questions
1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped
resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. (Same)
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and
innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. (Same)
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent
over time? (Same)
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an
educational barrier you have faced. (Same)
5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this
challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? Same)
6. Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you. Revised. 2018-Think about
an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or
outside of the classroom.
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (Same)
8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of
California? Revised. 2018-Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe
makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

11. 35
The Personal Insight Questions
Click the blue “answer”
button to respond to the
questions of your choice

12. 36
What does UC Expect to Learn from the
Responses?
• The new format gives applicants a
greater say in the kind of
information they want to share
• Students can express who they
are and what matters to them not
only in how they respond to the
questions, but also through the
questions they choose to answer
• The option over which questions
to answer gives students greater
flexibility and control
• The format allows students to
select questions that are most
relevant to them

13. 36
Responses from Fall 2017 Applicants

14. 9
Other Benefits Of Questions
• Earlier awareness for
all stakeholders
• Integration throughout
high school English
• True advocacy
– humble bragging
• Positive slant of each
question
• Interview readiness
• Great brainstorming for
other application essays
• Great use for other
supplemental essays

15. Transferability Examples
1. USC. (Choose one 250 word max)
• USC believes that one learns best when interacting
with people of different backgrounds, experiences and
perspectives. Tell us about a time you were exposed to
a new idea or when your beliefs were challenged by
another point of view.
• Describe something outside of your intended academic
focus about which you are interested in learning.
• What is something about yourself that is essential to
understanding you?
2. Chapman (and many other with academic intent
questions)
• Member Questions: Academics
• Please explain your interest in the major(s) you
selected. (Required, 200 word limit)
3. Yale (Choose two, 250 word max)
• What is a community to which you belong? Reflect on
the footprint that you have left. (You may define
community and footprint in any way you like.)
• Reflect on a time in the last few years when you felt
genuine excitement learning about something.
• Write about something that you love to do.
4. Vanderbilt and several others.
• Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular
activities or work experiences (Required, 150-400 word
max, Paste in) (Universal: This is part of Universal
Application already)
1. UC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
2. UC 2, 6
3. UC 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
4. UC 1, 2, 3, 7, 8

16. Submitting the Application

17. Strategies For Counselors
• Start with resume or activity
section of UCs
• Interview clients using the
questions
• Help them select the four
• Ask them to demonstrate
different strengths in each
question.
• Show students the UC
brainstorming activities or create
your own.
• Try not to have students respond
to both 4 and 5 if talking about
challenges overcome.
• Start with one before going to
rest.
• Now that we have samples, show
students different responses.

18. Some quick samples
UC 1 Leadership
With the sheet of paper that listed the tedious schedule for the day in hand, I
quickly addressed my eager peers, reminding them of their necessary tasks.
My team of 30 and I were prepared to face the demanding challenge that
called us to the impoverished Orange Walk, Belize: children. The piercing
screech of the brakes as two school busses slowly rolled up, each carrying
one hundred screaming children, intimidated and excited us all.
The already humid and thick air was suddenly filled with voices, laughter,
and high pitched screaming. As I had planned, we split the flood of kids from
scattering ages of two to thirteen into groups, and we began to take on the
sweltering Belizean morning. The toddlers learned English inside the
broken-down, windowless and doorless iglesia, the five through nine
year-olds finished up their intricate and colorful crafts, and the rest were
exuberantly yet skillfully playing soccer along the dirt road that ran unevenly
through the town. Everything that I had prepared for these children for
months ahead was being perfectly executed and enjoyed.
After skipping from different groups, speaking to the young people in my
elementary school-level Spanish, and learning about them, I remembered
my calling as the leader of this 10 day mission trip for teen members of my
church. By organizing a camp for over 200 excited children for a week,
teaching them English, and learning their stories, I remembered the
importance of being a leader and taking initiative. Once we all gathered, I
stood up in front of the boisterous crowd and thanked them for letting our
group of strangers become a small part of their lives.
The trip successfully ended as we waved our goodbyes with genuine tears
streaming down our and the children's cheeks. We watched them get slowly
driven away back to their underdeveloped homes in the same sputtering
busses that brought them to us. Since we departed, I have hoped that the
children we served and the children that served grow to inspire others and
give back as I was able to do and model for them.
Another UC 1 Leadership
On my school newspaper, I have been a News Section Head and am
currently Managing Editor. Both roles entail layout and writing duties,
but what keeps me busiest is my leadership responsibility to my staff
and co-editors. Though we try to stay businesslike, this is high
school; the personal is bound to interfere with the professional. That’s
where I come in.
We always manage to put out an excellent issue, so my greater concern
is not the outcome but the experience we have in producing it. I try to
make sure all staff members feel heard and respected, regardless of
their rank on staff.
Last year one of my colleagues gave two of our trainees, who she was
friends with, special treatment. My co-editor gave them first dibs on
articles and pages they wanted to work on, allowed them to break
rules without consequence, and repeatedly praised them while either
ignoring or unduly punishing others we were meant to be teaching.
My other co-editor continually avoided confronting this favoritism, so I
was on my own.
I talked to the editor concerning her behavior, and she simply could not
see or accept the fault in her actions, so I focused on what I could do
to make sure my trainees were being attended to and had equal
opportunities. I stayed late after school and met them during free
periods to work with them and created practice assignments for them
to learn from. Recently, one of them told me that she had felt so
unvalued by my co-editor that she had considered quitting, but my
support motivated her to stay.
Now those students I worked with have leadership positions of their own,
and I daily witness how well they do their jobs and care for their
trainees because of the time and effort I put in with them. They
understand what it really means to be a leader. But, most importantly,
I was able to make their experiences on staff even just a little bit
better.

19. More samples
UC 7
Music courses through my veins, sculpts my psyche, and encompasses my soul. After
the tragic death of my best friend from cancer when we were both fifteen, I
surrounded myself with music at all times. Without music, the person I am today
would not exist. With my knowledge of the profound effect of music upon lives, I
chose to volunteer for Summer Encounter, a program in which fourth and fifth grade
students of inner city elementary schools attend a variety of music classes and
ultimately earn a scholarship at the Colburn School where I take piano lessons or
Jumpstart.
On the first day of classes, I observed an ethereal phenomenon. As the sound of a G
chord emerged from the slight pluck of strings, as the tempo of the bongos bounced
from wall to wall, and as their right hands waltzed with their left hands upon the
keyboard, enlightenment sparkled in their eyes. Their minds grew curious, their
bodies gained passion, their imaginations formed a sense of creativity, and their
heartbeats began to embody a melody.
Over the course of two weeks, I contributed to the positive growth of sixty unique
students. While I helped those who expressed much ease, I also assisted those who
encountered much difficulty. With a great deal of support and guidance, a girl who
ceased to participate due to her timidity eventually engaged in each class with much
passion, and a boy who refused to appreciate music due to domestic issues
eventually grew an intense musical spirit. These two children, and many more,
allowed music to overcome their internal toil. Rather than resorting to harmful coping
mechanisms, the students adopted music as an outlet. Rather than isolating
themselves from relationships, the students formed lifelong bonds. Rather than
choosing to hate, the students chose to love.
In music, there exists an embodiment of emotion, a universal understanding, and an
underlying set of moral codes. Within the short span of two weeks each summer, a
profound intelligence and a creative imagination has formed in the hearts of each of
the students I have worked with.
UC 7
Throughout my years at Brentwood, I have focused my efforts on
empowering my school community through leadership roles. For six years, I
have been a student ambassador, helping prospective parents and students
learn Brentwood’s amazing programs, while also serving as a role-model to
the new students. This year I am one of the presidents of the student
ambassador program.
For the past two years, I have also been involved in Brentwood’s peer
tutoring program, and several times a week, I help students on challenging
assignments. Not only have I been a tutor to many of these students, but I
have also been a student mentor. Many students have come to me for
guidance with different social issues. I believe this program has really
helped students thrive at Brentwood, and it has been a privilege to be a part
of it.
In addition to marketing, tutoring, and mentoring, I have helped shape
Brentwood by participating in formal leadership opportunities. I have been a
student council member all six years from Vice President in 7th grade to
Co-President of the middle school and culminating with co-Head Prefect of
Brentwood. Serving and now leading student council enables me to help
make Brentwood a better place.
This past year I became a mentor to our fledgling middle school student
council. I attended student council meetings and helped plan different
events. In late spring when the middle school was planning its annual field
day, I discovered that the middle school still uses my master logistics
document for field day that I created when I was in middle school. This
made me proud that I was still contributing to the success of field day three
years later.
My contributions to Brentwood through my leadership have allowed me to
help many people at my school. I feel a huge sense of debt to my school,
which when my financial situation changed in 9th grade, funded my
education for the past three years. As a leader, I believe in giving back to
the community for which I have the utmost appreciation and respect.

20. 45
Resources
UC Admissions Home Page
admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/
How to Apply
admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/index.html
Online Application
admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/applicant/login.htm
Essays
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/personal-questions/freshman/index.html
Help Desk
ucinfo@applyucsupport.net
1-800-207-1710 (U.S. only)
1-310-513-2715 (outside U.S.)
UC Application Center
P. O. Box 1432
Bakersfield, CA 93302

21. Submitting the Application

22. Submitting the Application

23. https://tinyurl.com/heca2017ucinsightquestions
1. Rebecca Joseph, Ph.D., IEC,
getmetocollege@gmail.com
2. Sylvia Juarez, IEC, Former CAL
Admissions Officer and Current Reader
juarezconsulting@gmail.com
3. Juan Villegas, Associate Director of
Admissions at UC Merced
jvillegas@ucmerced.edu