Want to write a University of California Berkeley personal history statement that really counts?
Remember that you not only require good writing skills for that but also a thorough insight into the course you want to apply, about the institute and a few other important elements.
Through this blog, we will show you everything to help you write a winning Berkeley personal statement.
This comprehensive personal statement guide contains:
- Structure of Berkeley Personal History Statement
- Different UC Berkeley Personal History Statement Example
- How to write a University of California Personal Statement in 6 simple steps
- Professional writing tips from experts
Why Does Personal Statement for UC Application Have So Much Hold on Your Goal?
The University of California is no doubt one of the best universities in the world. It is in fact a collection of multiple institutes with campuses in many places including Berkeley. Students who apply for admission to any program under UC are required to include a personal statement that tells the institute why they deserve a place at UC.
- Through the UC application personal statement, you can tell what makes you special
- It helps you establish your goals in line with the institute’s mission and vision
- You can quickly win the approval of the panel through the systematic articulation of points in University of California personal statement
- UC admission panel evaluates your fitness for their programs from your personal statement
What Should You Accomplish Through Your Berkeley Personal Statement?
Your personal statement should be able to provide the reader with a clear assurance of what you can promise as a student, a member of the student community and most importantly a responsible individual.
What Do the Selection Committee Look For In Your Writing?
Students often fail to write a complete personal statement because they don’t know what their universities expect from them.
That shouldn’t be the case anymore.
Here is the complete list of points that the selection committee will try to learn about you from your personal statement.
- What can you bring to the table as a UC history student?
- Other than academics, what other areas have you excelled in or been involved with and how do they make you a more suitable candidate for the Berkeley program?
- Your communication skills, particularly your ability to articulate your thoughts in simple and straight terms
- Your vision for the future
How to Write a UC Berkeley Personal History Statement in Six Steps?
Depending on the students, the trouble with personal statement writing could be different.
Some find it hard to get started, some might face a challenge with the body. Whatever it be, this step-by-step guide will solve it.
Prepare a checklist:
First, make a checklist to help you validate your writing. It should contain everything – the structure, word count, UC requirements, prompt, and relevant points you want to cover.
Read samples:
In this second stage, you need to become familiar with a real-world personal history statement Berkeley sample. Go through a sample we have provided here to help you with the same.
Make an outline:
Make a rough outline next. It shouldn’t have to be perfect. Make sure it gives space for all points from the UC requirements. Do a round of freewriting and include any good points from that in the outline.
Start writing:
You have already created an outline. Now you need to combine all the pieces of information so that you can present them in a more engaging and attractive way. Start with the introduction, move to the body and then the conclusion.
Edit and modify:
Read your write-up a few times. Check if all sentences in paragraphs are logically sequenced. Likewise, ensure grammatical and spelling accuracy and good construction of sentences.
Review and submit:
In the last stage, get your personal statement reviewed by someone who gives you honest feedback. Find out the deadline for submitting and make sure you submit your application at least a few days in advance.
Personal Statement Berkeley Example 1- University of California Personal Statement For IT Program
Growing up in a cosmopolitan academic environment, I made some friends who speak German, while others speak French. Well, I speak Python. The natural instinct in me compelled me to explore the intricate beauty of language. It is fascinating to observe the marvel of each language, coherently bound by grammar and the respective rules. While my friends say songs and poetry in English are excellent pieces of art, I say programming too can be a masterpiece. In English, every well-framed sentence has a purpose, along with which comes a meaning. This principle holds good for Python programming too. In coding, every line invokes a certain function.
Maturing as an IT professional in the 21st century naturally exposed me to the pains and pleasures of coding. During my leisure hours, I love conversing with computers, rather than communicating with people over social media. During these endeavours, the idea of computers lacking imagination has struck me multiple times. This requires programmers to depict each and every code precisely. If programming is an art, my keyboard is my pen. The very tool that generates codes and helps me feed machines with the necessary instructions.
As information technology draws people across the world closer, we move into a futuristic world, driven by information. For me, it would be a pleasure to be a part of an industry that keeps evolving every other day. Being a typical technophile, I love staying abreast with the latest industry trends. Cracking codes bestow me with an essence of gratification that no other pursuit can complement. Participating in code wars and Hackathons, I transcended my Intermediates. Here I stand today, at the juncture of a prolific academic life and a dynamic career. The most logical move for me is to embrace a course that would help me materialize my professional goals. I visualize myself walking in the shoes of an established programmer or developer, shaping technologies in a futuristic world.
In one of my projects, I developed a website for our school after much deliberation and planning. We were a team of three, and worked on this portal to connect the academic faculty to parents. Live chat, interactive dashboards, and a seamless navigation in the dummy version of the website drew me widespread appreciation from the school authorities. In the world of digitization, I had succeeded in building something that would connect people together. I thanked Coursera for the awesome Python Programming course it had recommended me a few weeks ago.
While developing websites, I prioritize the visual pleasure and functional integrity of the platform. Diagrams, flowcharts and other design principles need to be incorporated in a calculated mix. I love brainstorming, and this defines why my websites stand apart from the rest in terms of features and user-friendliness.
Being an avid learner, I would like to delve in the area of my interest and mature as an accomplished professional. Particularly, I am keen to explore trending technologies like AI and machine learning, which would prove handy in app development. A world of opportunities awaits me in India, as I ready myself for a happening career. I’m sure I can refine the academic environment at your esteemed university through knowledge sharing and peer learning. A berth in your esteemed institution would translate my professional goals to reality.
Here is a realistically written university of California Berkeley personal history statement PDF.
Download it and read it from start to end up.
Figure out how the writer has addressed each of the requirements.
Berkeley Personal Statement Example 2- UC Berkeley Personal History Statement
My initial years during childhood landed me in situations, which eventually nurtured my character to help others. My parents divorced when I was eight, and I suffered miserably during my pre-teen years. I had to guardian three younger sisters by the time I was fifteen. I experienced strange living arrangements at distant relatives’ houses and motels all this time. Until my father gained back custody, we were placed in foster care. There was a kind of helplessness, that shaped my personality from inside. All these years, I felt an innate driving force inside me, that motivated me to stand by people who need help, while propelling myself to my professional goals.
The hardships I encountered during my early years significantly shaped my aptitudes significantly. I explored every possibility that appealed to my interests. My motto was to embrace a challenging service-oriented career. Incidentally, I was the first to attend a four-year graduation program in my family. I enjoyed the liberty to explore all the viable options that stood before me. I tried the respective career trajectories and career paths, and delved into a wide plethora of extracurricular activities. All this time, I kept knocking at different professional avenues. Once I worked at a psych lab, aspiring to be a psychologist. I also volunteered as a part of an NGO at a free clinic, exploring the career potential of a healthcare professional. Besides, I an investment and finance club in my university. This bestowed me with a much-needed exposure to the world of business.
Well, as I kept exploring all these options, I focused on my motto: how could I give back to the society? Ultimately, I started studying public policy, and this domain appealed the most to my intellect. I was intrigued by the interdisciplinary character of policy. At the same time, it paralleled with my inclination to help the folk around me.
During my undergraduate course, I had the opportunity to serve as a peer-advising counsellor in my college. Working in this position, I capitalized on the opportunity to come up with a suitable environment of personal and academic success, counselling over 400 students from different cultural and academic backgrounds. As a part of this program, I extensively interacted with transfer students, LGBT students, underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students and former foster youth. It was an exciting and multi-faceted work for me. I remember advising students on some occasions on their specific academic plans. In other situations, I counselled them out of personal trouble. I enjoyed walking in the shoes of a community leader, working closely with new students migrating to the institution. Given that I had a strong knowledge of the resources available in the university, I could refer the needy students to the respective departments. Eventually, I was able to fulfil my goal of helping the students who actually needed it. It was a gratifying learning experience for me too, as I earned a substantial knowledge about social and cultural aspects, working with several ethnic groups. In the process, I gained a deeper perspective of the incredible variations of understandings and perceptions. By the time I graduated, I had a greater sensitivity of coordinating with students. I started perceiving certain commonalities among people and the distinct problems which they encountered.
After completing my graduation, I engaged in a low-income job as a social science instructor in my neighbourhood. Next, I decided to establish myself as a language teacher. I also had the passion to travel, so I wanted to travel to Japan. Travelling brings me experiences that shape my career horizons as well as helping me mature as a human being. The world is fast globalizing, and I find traveling to be the right pursuit that bestows me with a broader overview that can benefit my competence in the classroom. Besides, it would establish me as a global citizen and complement my efforts in the professional circuit. Staying abroad, I have experienced a more intangible growth, and presently I wish to return to the domain of public policy as an adaptable and confident leader. In a nutshell, I wish to channelize my energies for the betterment of the public.
It was during the time I stayed under foster care, that my ambition to serve the public sprouted. However, this passion kept igniting my career decisions, and ultimately culminated itself at the university level. Eventually, I look forward for a berth at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. With my experience and determination, I am confident to succeed. Besides, I have demonstrated my leadership skills at the graduate level. In the coming years, I wish to mature further and embrace a life-long career to serve the people around me for their betterment.
Professional Writing Tips from Experts
Remember that your University of California personal statement can rewrite your future for good.
So, it must be stunning from every angle.
Here are a few professional tips shared by experts to do that easily.
Write taking your time:
Enjoy writing your personal statement. You can’t do that when you are in a hurry. So, begin early so that you have plenty of time to write and rewrite.
Make it completely yours:
Make each word in your personal statement completely yours, flowing from your heart. Try to listen to your inner self and write what you think would help you.
Be honest:
Never try to write something that is not true to convince the reader. When you write about something that is not you, it may look artificial and detached from you.
Practice reading and writing:
Use the first few days for reading and freewriting. If you have had a long gap in writing, you will find Berkeley personal statement writing hard. Freewriting will help you get used to writing.
Sell yourself:
Remember that the ultimate purpose of your personal statement is to sell yourself to the selection committee. For this, you need to keep the focus on your merits in whatever you write – experience, strength, or background – in a very natural way.
Why the University of California, Berkeley? 5 Reasons to Study There
Here are the top five reasons to consider UC Berkeley for your higher education.
- One of the oldest and most reputed universities in California
- It finds an equal place with Harvard, MIT and Yale in the list of America’s leading institutions.
- UC Berkeley has a highly competitive admission rate
- Students can avail of various scholarship options to halve their expenditure while studying at UC Berkeley
- UC Berkeley has a very diverse student and faculty body
How to Apply?
- Appear for your Sat/Act and secure a good score
- Understand the application requirements from the university guidelines published on its official website
- Write a strong UC Berkeley graduate personal statement
- Get letters of recommendation from people who are eligible to write it
- Fill out all application documents and submit
What is the Current Acceptance Rate at the University of California, Berkeley?
University of California, Berkeley is one of the hardest institutes to get admission to in the USA just like its counterparts – MIT, Yale and so on. The overall acceptance rate stood at 17.5% in 2020. It rightly shows the importance of a strong university of California Berkeley personal history statement in your application.
Schools/Campuses of the University of California
Including Berkeley, the University of California has ten different schools or campuses.
The following is the list of campuses other than Berkely.
As you have noticed in the UC Berkeley personal statement examples, customization according to the campus is highly recommended.
| Campus Location | Popular Programs |
|---|---|
| UCLA (Los Angeles) | Clinical psychology, Psychology, Math, History, Sociology, English, Political science, Economics, Chemistry, Earth sciences, Physics, Biological sciences, Statistics, Biostatistics |
| University of California – San Diego | Biology/Biological Sciences, General, Computer Science, International/Globalization Studies, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, Biochemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, Communication, General;Neurobiology and Anatomy, Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Mechanical Engineering |
| University of California – San Francisco | Computer Science, Engineering, Health, Social Science and Humanities |
| University of California – Santa Cruz | Computer and Information Sciences, Psychology, General Business/Managerial Economics, Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology, Sociology, General; Environmental Studies, Film/Video and Photographic Arts, English Language and Literature |
| University of California – Davis | Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering |
| University of California – Santa Barbara | Social Sciences; Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Psychology, Visual and Performing Arts, Natural Resources and Conservation, Physical Sciences and Engineering. |
| University of California – Riverside | Social Sciences, Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, Engineering, Visual and Performing Arts, English Language and Literature/Letters, Mathematics and Statistics, Computer, and Information Sciences |
| University of California – Irvine | Public Health, Business/Managerial Economics, Biology/Biological Sciences, Economics, Social Psychology, Criminology, Psychology, Computer Science, Sociology, Political Science and Government |
| University of California – Merced | Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, Psychology, Social Sciences, Business, Management, Marketing, Health Professions and Related Programs, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Physical Sciences, English Language, Literature/Letters, Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics |
That Brings Us to the Conclusion…
We hope to have covered almost everything in this blog about the University of California personal statement.
Is there anything that you wish to have more clarity on?
Do let us know in the comments below.
If you have a dream to study your favourite subject at UC Berkeley, don’t let that wish go unfulfilled.
Write a powerful personal history statement UC Berkeley following the steps shared in this blog.
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