Here are 5 things I like to see in a great response to a personal insight question:
Information. Does your PIQ provide information that adds to your application? And does the information you provide connect back to one of the UC 13 points of comprehensive review?
Clarity. Is your topic clear, hopefully at/near the start of your PIQ? And is the purpose of each paragraph clear?
Action. Do you use active verbs to describe specifically what you’ve done—either to explore the activity you’re describing, or to overcome a particular challenge?
Values. Can we understand your core values? In fact, can we highlight and name those values based on the specific details and examples you’ve provided?
Insight. Do you answer “so what” several times in your PIQ? Do we get a sense of why the details you’ve shared are important in general, or meaningful to you in particular?
Want examples of outstanding PIQs that demonstrate these qualities? Click here. Almost every PIQ possesses almost every one of these qualities.
How can you bring more of these qualities into your Personal Insight Questions?
Information. Do a ton of brainstorming exercises to build up content for your essay.
Clarity. Use this guide on revising your essay in 5 steps and this guide on improving your transitions to make sure the paragraphs clearly connect.
Action. Use the Epic List of Verbs for more ideas.
Values. Use the Values List for ideas.
Insight. Use this post to learn how to make your PIQs more insightful.
Want more help writing the UC PIQ’s? Check out my complete guide.
Want me to take you even further into this process? Check out my Pay-What-You-Can course.
