How To Get Into UW’s iSchool: Tips For My Prospective Informatics Majors

So I got into the INFO major in the autumn of 2021, and it took me both tries to get in. Here’s my story.

Disclaimer: The INFO prompt has changed significantly since I applied for INFO; therefore, make sure to hit all of the points on the current prompt! Also, this is my personal stance on the application which helped me in my journey! Please go to peer advising https://ischool.uw.edu/advising-support for more help.

Originally, I applied to the Uniersity of Washington as a Pre-Sciences major and thus, began an anxiety-ridden, two-year search for a technology-focused major that would help me in my journey of building solutions that empower people.

I wanted to pursue Informatics after hearing great things about it from my sister—who was also the president of WINFO during her undergraduate years at the iSchool. Then, after taking the introductory Informatics course, INFO 200, and understanding the values of the iSchool, I realized:

I wanted this major to be my home.

Right around the time I’m writing this article, my passion is to become an engineer who can build ideas into a secure and empathetic solution so all people can be empowered by technology. I’m a third-year at the University of Washington following the Information Assurance and Cybersecurity track within the Informatics major, and I’m currently a Teaching Assistant for Professor Wes E. King’s INFO 200 course. After analyzing my journey thus far, and answering the questions my students have had about the application process — I created this guide to talk about the things I wish I knew during my freshman year. So to help you save time and guide you towards the direction of your passions — here’s my journey into the iSchool...

Ok. I thought after my first day of my freshman year. What do I want to do? Immediately, I looked through the other majors at UW to see what I wanted to pursue.

Math? Eh.

Applied Computational Math? Not too shabby.

Maybe I should apply for CS. Not that I’ll make it but what if I did?

I noticed a similarity between all of the majors I was looking at, including Informatics. Can you see it?

They’re all (hyper) competitive in some way–you can’t just apply and get in. Therefore, you need to pick a couple of majors you’re interested in and focus on their prerequisite classes in your first two years. Then, once you finish the prerequisites for a major, you can venture into its 300-level classes to further develop your knowledge in that field so you can show it off in the application.

I focused on the prerequisites not only for Informatics, but also Computer Science, Math, and ACMS. I planned to fall back on GIS if I didn’t get into any of the majors, and I even prepared to transfer to the UW-Bothell campus to study Computer Science and Software Engineering there.

My first try on the Informatics application was not great at all. I’m not proud of my half-assed attempt as I started it a couple of days before the deadline. When I read it back now, I can’t help but die a little inside. So I started my second essay a couple months EARLY. That is the key here.

Tip #1: Start your application essay early! This means brainstorming, drafting, and all of the basic writing processes. When brainstorming, create a good list of projects, classes, or experiences where you could talk about how it made an IMPACT on YOU during your journey to achieve your passions.

My first essay read like a resume and did not represent me in a flashy way.

The essay should be a STORY about YOU.

Getting rejected the first time heightened my “no-major” anxiety tenfold. However, I have been put through the perseverance gauntlet before. and the key is to keep grinding to have no regrets because eventually you’ll penetrate through even the hardest of stones.

Tip #2: Keep grinding for your optimism because eventually you’ll penetrate through even the hardest of obstacles.

Inspired by 滴水穿石 (dī shuǐ chuān shí), an idiom I learned from Chinese school, this mindset embodied my work ethic throughout my life. A growth mindset is very important. Being able to bounce back from failure and be even better is important. Put your 100% effort into things and have no regrets about the outcome. When you submit the application and are waiting for results back, expect the worst, but hope for the best. This is why you have backup plans to lean on.

If you don’t get in on your first try, that’s alright. Focus on your next and final try. Put in 100% of your effort. If you get denied after you worked your a$$ off, admit to yourself that you have no regrets, and look up as you venture onto another path so your crown doesn’t fall off.

Tip #3: Make sure your essay is a STORY about YOU.

Assume that they are going to read your essay one time through because they’re tired of reading applications all day. Reading boring resumes like my first essay definitely didn’t make an impact on them.

I asked my INFO 300 professor to read over my first essay and he said it was straight-up boring. The guy literally plugged in the Hero’s Journey chart into my Google Doc as well and I got traumatic high-school English flashbacks. But it made sense why he did that.

Here was my call to adventure:

“In today’s age, I thought that technology has made information more accessible; however, my work and personal experiences made me question this assumption.”

Kinda juicy, right? Immediately, you’re hit with questions like:

“I wonder what work and personal experiences made him question that?”

“How did technology not make information more accessible? I thought it pretty much did.”

Honestly, thank you Professor Yip for copy-and-pasting the Hero’s Journey during our meeting. You made me remember traumatic memories of the random sh!t I would write to fluff up my high school essays, but you made a great point.

Tip #4: When talking about the specific experiences in your life, describe how you implemented the iSchool’s values into your thinking and learning.

Talk about what you’ve learned from INFO classes like INFO 200. That class is a prerequisite and you took it for a reason. This is also the perfect place for you to demonstrate the further learning you gained from taking INFO classes past the prerequisites. I took INFO 300 and I recalled the importance of understanding user interviews in my research during an internship experience. Therefore, I was able to pinpoint the challenges, understand how people interacted with technology, and build a rapport with customers.

Demonstrate how you deal with information that empowers the good of people, organizations, or society — especially, the people who are underrepresented and whose voices need to be heard. The experience does not have to be technical. You don’t have to build an amazing website that solves a golden problem. If you bring in the values of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), it could be about how you helped create an online presence for a business owned by first-generation Americans.

I talked about my experiences as a boba barista, and that’s not technical in the slightest.

There are tons of things out there for you to write about — start out by brainstorming a list of experiences which made an impact on who you are now. Then talk to friends or family members about those experiences to help jog your memory of certain elements you can emphasize.

Tip #5: Have a clear pursuit of passion and how you plan to get there (especially within the iSchool).

Your pursuit of passion should be clear and not vague at all.

My pursuit of passion is to become a software engineer who wants to “design empathy-driven technology so information can be universally accessible.”

Your journey to get there does not have to be complete at all, but it should at least be initiated in some way.

“In today’s age, I thought that technology has made information more accessible; however, my work and personal experiences made me question this assumption.” After noticing how hard it is for first-generation business owners to run and maintain a business, I joined a fin-tech company to help empower and educate small business owners. There, I used the principles of Informatics to understand the people using the technology I’m helping to build. Thus, I want to be a software engineer and “design empathy-driven technology so information can be universally accessible.”

My essay was a lot more constructed than that, but it was something along those lines.

Tip #6: Understand that the iSchool doesn’t need YOU; YOU need the iSchool. Make sure to talk about how the iSchool’s resources will help you reach your goal.

For example, I talked about the possibility of working in the Tech Policy Lab and I brought examples of what I learned from INFO 300 into my experiences. You could potentially talk about what classes you want to take to gain a deeper specialization towards that field, or maybe a specific Professor you want to interact with.

Tip #7: Take more INFO classes other than INFO 200.

This step may not be absolutely necessary, but it can further your understanding of the different branches offered by Informatics. I took INFO 300 and the 3 classes alone (INFO 200, INFO 201, INFO 300) were able to help me get into the major. However, I have gotten tips to take as many INFO classes as you can so you can be armed to the teeth in the different fields that INFO encapsulates. Just make sure you are able to demonstrate them in the essay (and don’t overdo it).

Tip #8: Use AS MANY resources as you can. This means showing your paper to friends, family, Professors, TAs, the INFO student admission helpers, the Writing Center, etc.

They will provide criticism on what is clear, what can be improved, and what should be emphasized. Also, make sure to ask for their FIRST IMPRESSIONS because you must hit all of the marks on the dot right from the get-go.

Understand that you don’t have to implement all of their feedback, and it’s up to you to choose what would be beneficial for your vision because not all of the feedback you get will be constructive towards that target.

Tip #9: Try to read the essays of admitted students to analyze what aspects they emphasize to align with the values of the iSchool.

However, take this with a grain of salt because you definitely DO NOT want to copy them. It’s your story you’re writing about, not theirs. Reach out to other INFO students as well to listen to their experience within the major and during the application. Every person has a different experience.

I still use all the things I learned from my application days to this day. I believe that’s the reason why the iSchool is picky about accepting applicants; if you cannot demonstrate the values of the iSchool, then you will struggle in the later classes because it all circles back to the foundational pillars of the department. Informatics is not only about coding and making apps. Programming and applications are just one of the many ways for us, Information Scientists, to transform data into information and help all people process that information into knowledge. Technology will keep evolving as long as humans are curious, but I ask you this:

If technology keeps evolving, then who’s making sure that people will not get left behind?

I hope that this article will be of use in your journey to gain admission into the iSchool. I wish I knew these things beforehand when I was writing my application, but now y’all have this information so you can bring your A-game to the iSchool admissions department!

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

(If you are looking for someone to read your essay, please refer to the peer advising resource linked below!)

Good luck!

-Elbert

Images Cited:

1. https://ischool.uw.edu/sites/default/files/2021-03/iSchool_og.png
2. https://c.tenor.com/UQli-ZPGe58AAAAC/tengen-uzui-demon-slayer.gif
3. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Heroesjourney.svg/300px-Heroesjourney.svg.png