UC Berkeley Supplemental Essays 2024-2025: Writing Tips & Examples

For the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), you’ll need to submit four supplemental essays, which are officially called Personal Insight Questions. Each essay is 350 words long, and you can choose from eight prompts.

UC Berkeley ranks #17 in national universities, just behind UCLA and Dartmouth that tie at #15. It’s also #2 in top public schools and has impressive rankings in other aspects as well. Because of these impressive recognitions, it’s no surprise that many students want to try applying. This has resulted in a competitive admissions process and an acceptance rate of 11%.

So how do you boost your chances of admission? In this blog, we’ll discuss UC Berkeley’s essay prompts and give tips on how you can write supplemental essays that will stand out.

• UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay Prompts
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #1
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #2
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #3
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #4
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #5
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #6
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #7
• How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #8
• Mistakes to Avoid When Writing UC Berkeley Supplemental Essays
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Takeaways

UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay Prompts

UC Berkeley has eight essay prompts, but you’ll only need to pick four and answer each of them in 350 words. All the prompts are given equal consideration, so you won’t be at any advantage or disadvantage regardless of what you choose.

That being said, below are the UC Berkeley prompts for 2024-2025:

• Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
• 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.
• What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
• Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
• 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?
• Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
• What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
• Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

As with the other UC campuses, UC Berkeley doesn’t use the Coalition or Common App. Because of that, it doesn’t require personal statements from applicants.

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #1

UC Berkeley wants to see three things in your essay for this prompt: a detailed story about being a leader, how your leadership changed things for the better, and how that experience helped you and the people involved evolve.

Brainstorming ideas

Considering this as one of your prompts? Below are some ideas to help you:

• List down your experiences. Think of all the times you stepped up to resolve a conflict, motivated a group, or took the initiative to improve a situation. Did you help resolve a conflict between siblings or lead a specific project in your club?
• Reflect on each moment. For each of your experiences, think of the challenges you overcame and what the results of your efforts were.
• Be specific about the impact of your experiences. Think of how your actions affected the people involved. You should also reflect on how the experience personally affected you. What have you learned from it?

Essay structure tips + examples

If you have an idea you like better than the others, below is a quick step-by-step on structuring your essay:

• Introduce the situation. Start with a brief context or anecdote that sets the scene. What was the situation that called for your leadership?
• Explain your role. Talk about what your responsibilities were and why you felt like you had to take action. What did you do?
• Show the outcome. Explain how your leadership influenced others or resolved disputes. Provide concrete examples of improvements or positive changes.
• Connect the experience to your future aspirations. Talk about how this experience aligns with your future aspirations and how it prepares you for the challenges ahead.

Let’s imagine you’re classmates with a new student, who you noticed was feeling isolated and overwhelmed by the new environment. You can open the essay with the moment you approached them.

Talk about why you took it upon yourself to help them and what you did to make them feel more at ease. Maybe you introduced them to other students and helped them navigate the school’s resources. How did that go? Did they become more confident and adjust to their new environment thanks to you?

Reflect on what you learned from the experience. Did you realize you could get over your shyness if it meant helping someone else? How does that help you in your future goals and challenges?

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #2

Creativity isn’t limited to the arts. It also includes everyday problem-solving, innovative approaches to challenges, and even unique perspectives in academic or extracurricular contexts. This essay wants you to talk about one or two specific examples that reveal the depth of your creative approach.

Brainstorming ideas

If you want to showcase your creativity, here are some tips to polish that idea:

• Think of all of the ways you can be creative. Think about projects, hobbies, or personal challenges where your creative thinking shone through—from finding a unique solution to a problem at school or taking up a new hobby that needs creative thinking, like coding.
• Describe your process. What process did you follow to generate and implement your ideas? What guided or pushed you to that process?
• Talk about how your creativity made a difference. How did your creativity affect you and others? What does the creative outlet mean to you, and how do you share it with others?

Essay structure tips + examples

If you know which aspect of your creativity you want to talk about, here’s how you can structure your essay:

• Introduce your creativity. Clearly introduce the context in which you express your creativity. Do you thrive when you’re alone in your room tinkering with Arduino projects or when making a new choreography for your dance team?
• Explain your process and results. What is your creative process? Where do you get inspiration? What is the outcome of your process, and how does it affect other people?
• Discuss what it means to you. How important is your creative outlet to you? How much have you changed before and after discovering and nurturing it? Talk about how your creativity can help you reach your career goals and get you through opportunities and problems.

Let’s say you’re good at creative problem-solving. You can talk about the time your group was struggling to come up with something for a certain school project.

How did you help them get over their mental block, or how did you help the group come up with a workable plan? You could say you shared brainstorming techniques, encouraged everyone to share their ideas (even the seemingly “crazy” ones), and helped the group pick out the best ideas.

Talk about how this creativity of yours is important to you and how it can help you in your career goals, opportunities, and challenges.

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #3

For this prompt, UC Berkeley wants you to showcase your best talent or skill, and your journey of how you improved and demonstrated it. Admissions officers want to see your growth and commitment and the impact it had on you and others.

Brainstorming ideas

If you want to choose this prompt, here are some ideas to help you choose a talent or skill to talk about:

• Reflect on what you’re good at. Think about activities or subjects where you naturally excel. Then, think about when you felt most engaged or proud of your abilities. The talent or skill you choose to talk about should stand out and have a rich story behind it.
• Chart your development. No one starts out as an expert in anything. Think back on your development. Where did this talent begin, and how has it evolved? What were the challenges and key points in your journey?
• Think about how it made a difference. What projects, competitions, or real-life situations let you showcase this talent? Did you get any awards or recognitions that became more proof of your progress?

Essay structure tips + examples

If you’ve chosen that one skill you want to talk about, here’s how you can write it down:

• Start with a hook. Your hook should capture your talent. You can introduce it through an anecdote, question, or other statement.
• Describe your talent. Explain why this talent is important to you and provide more context on what exactly your talent is. If your talent is programming, have you branched out to making apps or robotics?
• Detail your development process. Talk about how you discovered and nurtured this talent over time. Highlight specific experiences, practices, or obstacles you went through to improve. Share concrete moments where you used your talent.
• Reflect on the impact. Talk about the broader impact of this talent on your life and future aspirations. How has your journey of development prepared you for the challenges ahead, including in a college environment?

For example, you’re great at soccer. You can start by talking about the time you first held a soccer ball and was instantly engrossed in kicking it the rest of the afternoon.

You can continue by explaining the importance of your talent. Was your mom also a soccer player and you now bond through the sport? Did you end up in the striker position because you’re great at scoring goals? Take the reader through the ups and downs of your soccer journey. Did you suffer injuries, or get benched a lot when you started? How did you persevere?

Reflect on soccer’s impact on your life. Do you want to keep playing? If not, how can the soft skills soccer taught you help you? Maybe you were team captain and you learned how to be a leader.

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #4

For this prompt, UC Berkeley wants to see how resilient and committed you are to education. You can show this by either talking about an educational barrier you overcame or an educational opportunity you took advantage of.

Brainstorming ideas

If you’re proud of what you went through to overcome obstacles or academically challenge yourself, below are some ideas to help refine that:

• Identify the challenge or opportunity. Think of any advanced courses, special programs, mentorships, internships, or research opportunities that enriched your learning. Alternatively, consider challenges like limited resources, learning disabilities, socio-economic hardships, language barriers, or inadequate educational support you faced.
• Think about your actions. Faced with the opportunity or challenge, what did you do? Take the reader through the times you have to make important decisions and how you followed through.
• Assess its impact. Did your actions help you succeed? How did the experience influence your academic or career trajectory? What did you learn from the experience?

Essay structure tips + examples

Once you have an idea you want to go with, you can structure your essay this way:

• Set the right stage. Hook the reader in with a compelling intro, but clearly state if you’re discussing an opportunity or a barrier.
• Describe the context. Give a background on the educational opportunity or barrier. What were the circumstances? Why was this important to you? Talk about the actions you took to face the situation.
• Highlight your growth and impact. Describe the results of your actions. How did this experience change you? What did you learn, and how has it influenced your academic journey or future plans?

Let’s say you love biology and you wanted to write about the opportunities you took to deepen your knowledge of it.  You can start with the moment you decided you were going to take AP Biology.

Talk about your classes and projects. What setbacks did you experience? Were there times you thought you weren’t as good as you thought you were in the subject? How did you power through? Discuss how you sought extra resources, did research, engaged with mentors, or collaborated with peers to deepen your understanding of the subject.

You can end the essay by highlighting what you learned. Talk about how you still enjoyed yourself despite the challenge. Mention how the experience can help you in future plans, whether you plan to major in biology or not.

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #5

This prompt is different from the last one in that in this UCLA supplemental essay, you have to talk about the biggest challenge you faced that affected your academic performance. The admissions officers want to see how well you can bounce back from adversity.

Brainstorming ideas

To help you dig deep into the biggest challenges you had, here are some ideas you can think over:

• Think of all the challenges you’ve faced. Think about moments where you faced significant setbacks. These could include personal issues (such as health, family, or emotional struggles), academic difficulties, or social challenges.
• List down your actions. List down the steps you took to address the challenge. Consider moments when you sought help (mentors, counselors, tutors), adjusted your routines, or developed new strategies for learning.
• Reflect on the academic impact. Reflect on how the challenge affected your grades, motivation, or approach to learning. Did you develop better time management skills? Were you forced to adopt new study methods?

Essay structure tips + examples

After you’ve done some thinking on what affected your academics the most, here are tips to structuring your essay:

• Hook the reader in. Start with a compelling sentence that captures the essence of your challenge. Then state what the challenge was and why it was a big deal to you.
• Describe the challenge. Give context about the challenge, including its origins and why it was particularly difficult for you. Did you take on a part-time job that you’re having trouble balancing with academics?
• Talk about your response. Lay out the steps you took to overcome the challenge. Describe specific actions, strategies, or turning points that show your determination and growth.
• Explain the outcome. How did it all work out? Discuss any initial setbacks as well as improvements in your academic performance or mindset as a result of overcoming the obstacle.

Let’s go back to the example of taking up a part-time job. You can mention that at the start and explain why you had to do that despite already having quite shaky academics.

Follow that up with what you did to improve your grades. Did you learn better study habits? Did you talk to classmates or upperclassmen who were also working students and asked them for tips? Maybe you also learned to study during your breaks on the job.

Finally, talk about what the outcome is. Were you able to pass or get grades that were higher than you expected? Discuss the change in mindset you had and how it can help you in the long run.

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #6

Is there an academic subject that you particularly love much more than the others? A subject you love to the point of willingly going above and beyond standard coursework? You can freely nerd about that in the essay.

Brainstorming ideas

To help you choose which specific subject you should write about, here are some brainstorming ideas to help you:

• Think about what inspires you. Think about the classes where you’ve felt most engaged or the topics you read about in your free time.
• List your experiences. What did you do to dive deeper into the subject? Did you complete a significant research paper or take on extra credit projects for class? Maybe you’ve started a blog, created a podcast, or even volunteered in a related field outside of the classroom.
• Consider their impact. Think of why you love engaging in the subject. What did you learn? What challenges did you face? How did your understanding of the subject evolve?

Essay structure tips + examples

If you’ve chosen the subject you want to talk about, here’s how you can write it down:

• Introduce the subject. Start with an anecdote or other engaging statement that captures your initial spark of interest. Then explain what made you decide to nurture that interest.
• Detail your involvement. Share specific examples such as projects, coursework, or moments of insight during lessons. Then talk about your extracurricular activities, independent learning, or related community involvement.
• Highlight your growth. Explain how these experiences have deepened your knowledge and fueled your passion. Discuss any challenges you overcame or new skills you acquired.
• Talk about future aspirations. Share how your engagements shaped your academic journey. How do you plan to pursue this interest further in college and beyond?

Let’s say you’re a creative writing enthusiast. You can open the essay with how amazed you are that people can actually produce such beautiful literary works.

Talk about how you practiced your creative writing in class. Did you especially love your literature classes? Were you very aware of your writing, proofreading them over and over before submitting your papers? What did you do outside of class?

You might talk about your involvement in a school literary magazine, creative writing workshops, independent study of literary theory, or writing competitions.

Recount how you grew as a writer as you learned to use different literary devices and became more aware of the words you used. Do you plan to take up literature, or will you pursue the interest outside of your academics?

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #7

In this prompt, UC Berkeley wants you to show your commitment to making a positive impact on your community. They want to see how you’ve made a difference and what motivates you to contribute.

Brainstorming ideas

If you want to try your hand at this prompt, below are some ideas to help you reflect on your experiences:

• Recount of all your civic engagements. Think about clubs, sports teams, or student organizations where you took initiative or helped resolve issues. You should also consider volunteer work, community projects, or local activism.
• Identify specific contributions. Reflect on moments where your actions led to noticeable improvements. What were those projects or events where you played a key role?
• Think of the impact. What was the result of your efforts? How did your contributions make a difference? Did you improve something, help someone, or raise awareness about an important issue?

Essay structure tips + examples

Once you have a specific contribution you want to share, below is how you can structure your essay:

• Introduce the context and challenge. Hook the reader in with an engaging statement that introduces the context of your contribution. Mention the problem you want to solve.
• Talk about your actions. Detail the steps you took to overcome that challenge. What did you do, how did you organize or lead, and why did you decide to take action?
• Explain the outcome. Talk about the results of your actions. Talk about the feedback you received and other ways in which your task evolved.
• Connect it to the future. Reflect on what you learned from this experience. How did it shape your perspective, and how has it prepared you for future challenges?

For example, you’re passionate about environmental sustainability. You can start your essay by saying when you saw the overflowing trash bins outside your school and how it motivated you to help create a cleaner and safer environment.

Continue by talking about your actions. Maybe you proposed a comprehensive recycling program to the student council, collaborated with local environmental organizations, or organized a series of weekend cleanups. How did that work out? You could say faculty members said the atmosphere improved, and local media even featured the project as a model for community engagement.

End the essay by talking about how the experience shaped you, and how it prepares you for future challenges or goals. Maybe you witnessed the power of collective action, and spearheading the project taught you about proactive leadership.

How to Write the UC Berkeley Supplemental Essay #8

For this prompt, UC Berkeley is opening the floor to anything you want to share that you weren’t able to showcase yet in the rest of your application. Your goal here is to convince the admissions officers that whether or not you have stellar academic credentials, you still bring a distinct perspective and potential to enrich the campus community.

Brainstorming ideas

If you want to write for this prompt, below are tips to help you solidify your ideas:

• Think of what else you haven’t said. Admissions officers want additional insight about you, so think of what other aspect of yourself you haven’t talked about yet in your other essays and the rest of the application.
• Rethink your distinctive qualities. We know you’ve been thinking of what makes you unique the whole time, but think again. What personal attributes, experiences, or perspectives differentiate you from other applicants that you can talk about here?
• Reflect on how you can be a holistic fit. The admissions officers will see through your grades if you’re academically prepared. So, for this prompt, think about how your personal values, character, and experiences align with the university’s mission and community.

Essay structure tips and examples

If you’re ready to show UC Berkeley what you’re really made of, here are some tips for structuring your essay:

• Give a glimpse of your uniqueness. Hook the reader with a captivating opening that gives a glimpse of the unique quality or experience you’re about to discuss.
• Present a detailed experience. Talk about a detailed anecdote or description of an experience that illustrates the quality you want to highlight. Explain the impact of this experience or quality on your academic and personal development. Highlight any lessons learned or growth achieved.
• Connect it to UC Berkeley. Make explicit connections between your narrative and how you envision contributing to the UC Berkeley community. Show that you understand what the university stands for and how your unique perspective will improve the campus environment.
• Summarize your key point. End with a reflection on how these attributes will help you succeed at UC Berkeley and contribute to the university’s community.

For instance, you have a unique background of blending community service with technological innovation. Begin your essay with a statement that hints at that unique quality or experience. Provide context and background for the quality or experience. You can say you grew up in a rural town with limited resources, which let you develop an early fascination with how technology can empower communities.

You can talk about how you helped bridge the digital divide by teaching basic digital skills to local residents or helped in a project to set up a community computer lab. You can connect it to UC Berkeley by saying the institution’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary approaches and social impact aligned with your journey of combining technical skills with community service to solve real-world problems.

You can end by summarizing the unique qualities or experiences you’ve discussed and say again how they make you a strong candidate.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing UC Berkeley Supplemental Essays

When writing your UC Berkeley supplemental essays, it’s important to give an authentic and well-crafted story that sets you apart from the other applicants. Below are common mistakes to avoid and tips to steer clear of them:

1. Not answering the prompt directly

UC Berkeley’s prompts are designed to reveal specific aspects of your character, experiences, or aspirations that aren’t easily seen elsewhere in your application. Ignoring any part of the prompt can make your essay seem incomplete.

Carefully re-read the prompt multiple times and create an outline that ensures each component is addressed.

2. Lacking authenticity

Writing in a tone that sounds too formal or impersonal can disconnect the reader from your true self. Common phrases, buzzwords, or generic narratives can also make your essay easily forgettable among the thousands of others that the admissions officers read.

Be personal and detailed. Talk about specific moments and use and vivid language to help illustrate your points, and avoid overly broad statements that could apply to anyone.

3. Ignoring structure and organization

A messy essay that jumps from topic to topic can confuse the reader and weaken your overall message. On the other hand, a well-structured essay helps the reader follow your story, making it easier for them to understand your growth and why you’d be an asset to the campus.

Outline your essay before writing. Make sure you have a clear introduction, body paragraphs that develop your ideas, and a strong conclusion that ties everything together.

4. Overemphasis on achievements only

Simply listing your successes without explaining what you learned or how you evolved can come off as shallow. It can also signal to admissions officers that you lack the self-awareness to reflect on the context behind your achievements.

UC Berkeley is interested in your journey, including your challenges, reflections, and personal development. Because of that, balance your narrative by discussing not only what you achieved but also the insights you gained and how those experiences prepared you for future challenges.

5. Failure to connect to UC Berkeley

Describing personal achievements or experiences without linking them to what UC Berkeley offers or values can leave the reader wondering about the relevance of your narrative.

Your essay should show why you’re a strong candidate and a great fit for the UC Berkeley community in particular. Research UC Berkeley’s programs, culture, and values, then explicitly connect your experiences and goals to what the university offers.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does UC Berkeley have supplemental essays?

Yes, UC Berkeley has supplemental essays. Since they use the UC Application portal rather than Coalition or Common App, you don’t need to write personal statements.

2. How many essays for UC Berkeley?

UC Berkeley asks for four supplemental essays, which you can choose from eight prompts.

3. What does UC Berkeley look for in essays?

UC Berkeley looks for authenticity in essays. Admissions officers want to get to know you better outside of the grades and other information you’ve provided in your UC application. They want to know what drives you and how you can positively affect the community.

Takeaways

Compelling and insightful supplemental essays represent what makes you a strong candidate for UC Berkeley.

• UC Berkeley requires four 350-word essays that you can choose from eight prompts.
• When writing supplemental essays, avoid mistakes like not answering the prompt directly, lacking authenticity, ignoring structure and organization, overemphasizing achievements only, and failing to connect your experiences with UC Berkeley.
• Excellent essays strengthen your college application. A private consultant can help you decide which of the prompts can represent you best and refine your essays so they stand out.