The first two prompts ask about students’ leadership experiences and creativity.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.

An easier way to start is to pick one out of the three topics provided here: (1) positive influence, (2) helping with resolving disputes, or (3) contribute to a group over time. By doing so, it helps you to focus and makes sure you answer the prompt.

When we talk about “leadership experience,” it doesn’t necessarily mean a position in a group. If you have led a group of friends to accomplish something, whether it be a school project or a community service program, that counts as “leadership experience” too. You don’t need a title to be a leader. A title makes it easier, but it’s not required. In fact, you can be the social leader with your close friends. It’s more about what you do than who you are. 

You have to talk in detail about your experience. You can’t just say, “I led my team to the state championship. We practiced hard and fought our way to the final.” There are two reasons why you shouldn’t write something like that. To begin, this should have been mentioned in your application already, and, furthermore, colleges want to learn what YOU have done for the team, not what your team has done. Stay close to the three topics they provide for you. For the first and the second topic, you need to be a good before-and-after story-teller. Describe what the group was like before your “positive influence,” and what the group is like after your “positive influence.” The same idea goes for conflict resolution, too.

Another thing you need to write is your exact duty is as a leader. If you mainly delegate the duty to your team, you need o to explain that. If you are the type of leader that leads by examples, make sure you write about that. 

Lastly, something that isn’t mentioned in the prompt is what you learned from this experience. You might have learned the nuances of interpersonal relationships, the rigidity of bureaucracy, or the art of management.  This essay needs to end back at you.

2. 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.

Whatever you do, don’t say you are creative. “Show, don’t tell” has never been more important. You need to back up your creative side with a story or some kind of achievements.

Also, this prompt isn’t just for the artistic type. If you have done something creative for your school project, or you had to solve a problem due to limited time and resources, you can write about those stories too.

According to the UC official website, you need to mention what creative means to you. Does creative mean something new or something rearranged? Is it an idea that comes out of nowhere, or an idea that’s been crafted for a long time? This is totally up to you. Just make sure you define creativity.

This prompt especially mentions problem-solving, original thinking, and art. If you are to write about problem-solving, make sure you write it as step-by-step as possible so that your readers can follow. One of all the prompts, this is my favorite to read when done right. Students usually write a fun story to demonstrate their creative. As for original thinking and arts, paint a vivid picture for your readers, and demonstrate how it is original and innovative.

Finally, you need to lead it back to yourself. How does your creative side influence your daily life, classroom learning, and/or future majors? All are subjects you can write about.