UC Prompt #1: Displaying Your Leadership
by Molly R.
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 is a place for applicants to think about when they were leaders. Have you been a leader at school? At a community event? At home? Leadership roles can happen anywhere; they don’t need to just happen at school. Perhaps you took on a leadership role at a teen center or even in your home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are a few tips to make your UC Essay Prompt #1 stand out:
- Make it personal. While it may be tempting to share a narrative that seems perfect (displaying student leadership, for example), it’s more important to be honest and personal here. It’s okay if you weren’t the president of a club. Leadership is all encompassing. At Ivy Boost, we encourage you to think of leadership as a skill that you have been developing. When have you stepped up to a challenge? Did you spend your summer working? Volunteering? Traveling? Most likely, you will be able to share an example of your leadership as you think of how you spend your free time.
- Avoid cliches. Admission officers probably read a lot about sports teams winning and stories about student council. There is nothing wrong with these topics, but it’s recommended that applicants avoid cliches. It’s important to make your essay personal and meaningful. Leadership is more than a title and this essay is a great place to share when you have contributed to an accomplishment or even if you learned something about yourself, your family or friends.
- Mention a leader you admire. It’s great to include leadership traits you admire in your essay. You could write about how you aspire to be like a leader you admire. Perhaps you admire your mother for working two jobs to help make ends meet. Or a friend who stands up for trans rights. Demonstrate your leadership by showing HOW you are a leader.
We recommend that you write this essay in either two ways: The first utilizes a linear structure where you present a challenge, describe how you solved it, and the lessons you learned. The second way is that you present situations that taught you lessons or describes traits of leadership that you aspire to embody.