The UC Personal Insight Question: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge.

1. This prompt provides an excellent opportunity for you to talk about obstacles you have faced and what you have learned.

2. Your essay should be a two-part story of overcoming adversity against specified obstacles. 

3. The first part of your essay will be about problem-solving. You will describe the challenge and what you did when faced with it.

4. In the second part of your essay, you will consider how your education has been affected by what happened to you.

5. UC wants to make sure that you can handle upsetting events without losing your overall sense of self-becoming overwhelmed. UC wants to make sure that you are someone who is mature enough to do well on a college campus, where disappointing results and hard challenges will be par for the course.

6. UC is looking for your problem-solving skills. Can you keep a cool head in a crisis? Do you look for solutions outside the box? 

7. Demonstrate how you figured out how to fix the problem. Step UC through your process including what worked and what did not.

8. Highlight your resourcefulness and creativity. 

9. Make sure your story has an arch!