UC Berkeley Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

When it comes to applying to the top schools in the country, your application is vitally important. In order to give yourself the best chance of gaining admission, you need to make sure all aspects of your application are top-notch. In this post, we’re going to do a deep dive into how to write UC Berkeley supplemental essays for 2022-2023 and everything you need to keep in mind as you write.

Applying to UC Berkeley is part of the process to apply to any of the ten UC campuses. The UC system has its own application, and its own list of essay prompts. This essay prompts are for all applicants regardless of which campuses they choose to apply to.

UC Berkeley does not use the common app, so this means that you will be asked to answer essay questions provided by the UC system. The UC Berkeley supplemental essays 2022-2023 allow applicants a certain amount of freedom when choosing their supplemental essay topic, but we’re going to look at each essay prompt and discuss the best way to respond to each topic.

So, let’s start by looking at each supplemental essay prompt, and then we will discuss how to approach each one individually.

As we’ve said these essay prompts are for all students applying to all campuses within the UC system. When writing essays, there are some things to keep in mind. The UC system provides applicants with eight essay prompts and you must answer four of them. The essays are not weighted in any way, and you are encouraged to choose the essay topics that are most relevant to you.

How to write UC Berkeley supplemental essays?

Applicants are asked to answer four of the eight essay prompts, and the UC Berkeley supplemental essay word limit is 350 words per response.

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.

This prompt asks you to reflect on times when you took a leadership role, but leadership can take many forms. Not everyone will be student body president or captain of the football team, but there’s a good chance that you’ve been involved in some sort of activity where you either chose to take the lead, or you had leadership thrust upon you. This might have come in the form of taking charge of a group project or rallying your peers for a cause. It may have even been a leadership role within your family. The goal is to be specific about the circumstances and the impact you were able to have.

2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem-solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistic, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

Many students worry that if they don’t participate in the arts, it means they don’t have a creative side, but this isn’t true. Creativity is essential for nearly any important project. Creativity can take the form of problem-solving, and this can relate to the type of career you want to have. The key is to look at creativity very broadly and zero in on the ways that you are creative.

3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

If you are a concert pianist or a master glass blower, this is the place to talk about it. But a talent or skill doesn’t always manifest artistically. Sometimes a talent or skill is something much simpler, but the point here isn’t how impressive your talent is, but rather the process you went through to acquire the skill. Talk about your journey, and how it has affected your life.

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

No matter how successful you are as a student, nearly everyone has something they have overcome in their academic career. At the same time, you’ve likely also become involved in some sort of educational activity that has had a unique impact on you and your path. This might be a high-level course in high school or a college-level course. It could also be a program you attended over the summer or after schools like an internship or apprenticeship.

The key to answering this prompt is to concentrate on how you took advantage of the opportunity, and what this will mean for your future. Or how you were able to overcome adversity. What did you need to do to remove that obstacle? And what lessons have you learned from the experience?

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?

This prompt is similar to the one above, but it’s a bit broader. This could be a personal or family challenge, a challenge that faced your community, or it could be an academic challenge. The key to responding to this prompt is what you have learned from the challenge. It’s not a contest to see who has faced the biggest challenge, but rather an opportunity for you to discuss the personal integrity that was required to overcome the challenge.

If you are still working through your challenge, write about what you’ve learned so far, and what action you plan to take in the future.

6.  Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

Most students have an area of study that is more interesting than anything else. This prompt allows you to discuss what makes you excited about learning, and it gives you a chance to showcase your intellectual curiosity. Write about what made you so excited about this subject, and why you want to continue pursuing it.

The second part of this prompt asks you to discuss how you transitioned your interest in this subject to other aspects of your life. Did you become active in clubs or community service organizations? Did you devote your summers to programs that allowed you to further your passion? The UC system wants students who are excited about learning, and this is where you can demonstrate your personal passion.

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Again, when considering this prompt, think of the concept of community as broadly as possible. This could be your school community, your town, your team, or even your group of friends. The key is to focus on a tangible experience in which you took made the effort to effect positive change.

When responding to this prompt, think about why you chose to act, and the obstacles you may have faced when you acted. Reflect on your process, and why you chose the actions you took. And finally, write about the outcome of your action. Did it result in lasting change or did you have to take further action? The goal of this prompt is to demonstrate that you are the kind of person who is proactive and dedicated.

8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admission to the University of California?

As you’ve worked through the UC application and the UC Berkeley supplemental essays 2022-2023, consider if there is something significant about your life or your education that the UC needs to know. Do you have skills that have not been reflected so far on your application? Have you experienced challenges that are relevant to admissions officers? You can also discuss why the UC system is the right choice for you because of a specific reason.

At AdmissionSight, our goal is to help you with every step of the college admissions process. The UC Berkeley supplemental essays 2022 can seem daunting at first, but our experience and expertise will help you navigate the entire process with confidence. Hopefully, this guide to the UC Berkeley supplemental essays 2022-2023 has been helpful, but if you want more information about how AdmissionSight can help you realize your dreams, set up your free consultation today.