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The scenario is a familiar one: You’re applying to University of California campuses, and you planned to submit the UC application weeks ago, but school, sports, work, and life got in the way. Now, the deadline—November 30th—is just around the corner, and your Thanksgiving break is looking less like relaxation and more like a high-pressure essay writing marathon.
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If you’re scrambling to finalize your application to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, or any of the nine UC undergraduate campuses, you must transition from casual planning to emergency triage. With just five days left, every hour counts. You can still submit a strong application, but only if you work strategically and efficiently.
Here is your 5-day action plan to conquer the UC application and hit ‘Submit’ before the deadline.
Triage and Prioritization: Day 1 – Today / Tuesday
The UC application is comprehensive, but under a time crunch, you need to focus on sections that require the most time and reflection first.
Create Your UC Account and Complete Application Basics
If you haven’t yet, create your account on the UC system’s application portal. Log in and immediately fill out the factual, non-essay sections. These require raw data, not creativity.
Personal Information
Basic biographical data, residency status (crucial for financial aid/tuition).
Academic History
Manually input or verify all high school courses and grades. While tedious, this is non-negotiable and must be 100% accurate.
Campus Selection
Immediately select all the UC campuses you plan to apply to. Be sure to discuss this with your family, as there is a cost for each application you submit, so the more campuses you apply to, the more fees you’ll need to pay. Note that you may be able to qualify for a fee waiver, but you won’t know for sure until you get further along in the application.
When selecting campuses, be mindful of the average accepted GPA at each campus. The most selective campuses such as UCLA and UC Berkeley often only accept students with a GPA of 4.0 or higher. As such, if your GPA is significantly lower than the campus’ typical accepted GPA, you may want to focus on campuses where you have a better chance of acceptance, especially if you are concerned about application fees.
Need help deciding which campuses are best-fit for you? Checkout our blog about building your college short list!
Select Your Personal Insight Questions (PIQs)
You must choose 4 out of the 8 available PIQ prompts, with a maximum of 350 words per response. Do not waste time drafting essays until you have chosen your four prompts.
Go through the prompts and select the four that allow you to cover the widest range of your strengths and experiences. Think of the 4 PIQs as telling 4 distinct stories about yourself that could look something like:
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- Story 1: How you overcame an academic challenge
- Story 2: Your leadership skills, as demonstrated by a specific situation and/or your community service
- Story 3: A unique creative talent or ability in your sport
- Story 4: How you overcame a personal or homelife challenge OR you could share a special achievement or unique project that is meaningful to you
These are just examples, but it is important to understand that each PIQ response should showcase a unique facet about you, rather than writing four essays that all talk about something similar, such as your interest and experience as a performer in your school’s musical productions.
Conquering the PIQs: Days 2 & 3 / Wednesday & Thanksgiving Day – The Writing Blitz
The PIQs are not traditional creative essays. They are direct, reflective, and designed to reveal your thinking process and character. Under this time crunch, follow the “Outline First, Edit Later” rule.
Outline for Speed
For each of your four chosen PIQs, spend no more than 30 minutes creating a bulleted outline:
Hook/Opening
Start directly with the situation/problem. Example: “Working 20 hours a week at the grocery store taught me more than any textbook.”
Context/Action
Describe the concrete actions you took, the skills you applied, and the challenges you faced. Use strong action verbs and quantification.
Reflection/Learning
This is the most crucial part. What did you learn about yourself? How did this experience prepare you for college? Note that UC application readers prioritize reflection.
Word Count Check
Ensure your outline structure fits the 350-word limit. If you have too many points, trim it down.
Looking for more essay writing tips? Checkout our blog post about our top 10 strategies for writing winning application essays!
Repurpose Existing Content
If you’ve already written essays for the Common App or scholarships, you have a massive advantage.
Find Overlap
Look for themes: a challenge you overcame, a leadership role, or a commitment to a job.
Reformat, Don’t Rewrite
Copy the content, but aggressively cut the fluff and rephrase the topic sentences to directly answer the UC prompt. The UC reader wants a straight answer, not flowery prose.
The 350-Word Gold Standard
Don’t Write Your PIQ Responses Directly Into the Application
This is crucial. Far too many students have composed their essays within the online application form, only to lose what they wrote because the application timed-out on them, or because their laptop battery died. Always write your essays outside of the application form, in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or other text editing application.
Aim for Responding to Two PIQs Per Day
Write the first draft for PIQs 1 and 2 on Day 2, and PIQs 3 and 4 on Day 3. Remember, 350 words is short. Be concise. Do not waste space summarizing the prompt or using a long introduction. Get straight to the action.
Quantify and Polish: Day 4 – Friday
Dedicate one intense block of time to finalizing the activities section of the UC Application as well as reviewing and editing your essays.
Maximize the Activities Section
This section requires specific details about how you spent your time outside of class. UC readers scrutinize this section because it validates the experiences you mention in your PIQs.
Quantify Everything
Don’t just list “Volunteer.” Instead: “Volunteered 150 hours at the local food bank over two years, organizing inventory and supervising 4 new volunteers.”
Use Allotted Space
Utilize the space provided to describe your impact, not just your role. If you had a part-time job, tie it back to the transferable skills.
The Final Essay Review
Read Aloud
Read each PIQ out loud to catch awkward phrasing, typos, and confusing sentence structures.
Check the Prompts
Did you actually answer the entire question asked? This is the most common PIQ mistake.
The Clarity Check
Ask a trusted person (parent, teacher, counselor, or friend) to read your PIQs in isolation and tell you what three adjectives describe you based on the writing. If the words are “clever, resilient, leader,” you succeeded. If the words are “confused, vague, unfocused,” you need to edit.
Submission Day: Day 5 – Saturday
Do not wait until November 30th at 11:00 PM PST. Submission delays are common, and server crashes happen.
Final Fee Waiver Check
If you qualify for a fee waiver, which covers the $70 application fee for up to four UC campuses, you must ensure this is completed before you submit.
Review and Submit
Campus Selection Review
Check one last time that you have selected all the UC campuses you intended to apply to.
The PIQ Review
Copy/paste your four PIQ responses into the text boxes in the application, if you haven’t already done so. Be sure to review them and check your formatting to be sure that everything looks as you intended.
Ask a Parent or Other Trusted Adult to Review
Having an adult review your entire application is so important. They may spot something you missed, or may be able to clarify something that you found confusing that could impact your application success.
Hit Submit
Submitting the application well before the 11:59 PM deadline on November 30th ensures that a technical glitch won’t derail your hard work. We recommend that you submit your applications no later than November 29th, just to be sure you won’t run into any submission issues. And besides, many of you might ALSO be working on Common App applications that are due on December 1st, so it’s best to get the UC applications done as soon as you can so that you’ll be able to focus on the next application deadline!
Claim Your Holiday Back
You have five days to secure your future. By focusing ruthlessly on the PIQs and the Activity section first, you can craft a compelling narrative that showcases your full potential to the UC system.
Once that application is submitted—whether it’s Friday afternoon or Saturday morning—you can finally enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers and truly be thankful for your resilience and commitment. You deserve that break. Now, get to work!
