You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
Here are the eight PIQs for the 2025-2026 application cycle:
#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.
Leadership Essay Slides
Q: What's a strong leadership example?
A:
Select a specific situation, not just a title.
Example: Leading a team in a robotics competition.
Example: Taking the lead role in organizing a family project.
Choose a story with a clear challenge and outcome.
Q: How to show positive influence?
A:
Describe concrete actions you took.
Don't just say you led. Say, "I organized team meetings, delegated tasks, and motivated members."
Detail the result of your actions. "Our project was completed two weeks ahead of schedule."
Q: How to write about resolving disputes?
A:
Identify a specific conflict within your group.
Explain your role as a mediator. Did you listen, propose a compromise, or find common ground?
Describe the actions that led to a resolution.
Q: What did you learn from this?
A:
Connect the experience to a shift in your perspective.
Example: "This experience taught me that true leadership is about service, not command."
Explain how this new insight will shape your future actions.
Q: What to avoid?
A:
Generic descriptions of a title without a specific story.
Focusing on yourself, not on how you influenced others.
Lacking concrete details or a clear takeaway.
Making it a list of accomplishments.
Q: How to structure your essay?
A:
Introduction: Introduce your leadership example and its context.
Body: Describe your actions, your influence on others, and any challenges.
Conclusion: Reflect on what you learned and how it changed your perspective.
#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.
Creativity Essay Slides
Q: How to define your creativity?
A:
Move beyond the artistic. Define creativity as a form of problem-solving.
Focus on a specific type of creative expression.
For instance, not "I like to draw," but "I use creativity to design effective logistical systems for events."
Consider how you express creativity through original or innovative thinking.
Q: What's the story behind your creativity?
A:
Identify a specific project or moment where you were creative.
Describe a clear challenge you faced.
Show your creative process in action.
For example, "Our club's website was confusing. I used my creative problem-solving to restructure the user flow, making navigation intuitive."
Q: How does this creativity influence you?
A:
Explain how this creative mindset shapes your approach to the world.
Show how your creativity works inside and outside the classroom.
For instance, "My innovative thinking influences how I approach history essays, not by restating facts, but by forming original arguments from source analysis."
Q: Does it relate to your major/career?
A:
Connect your creative expression to your academic or professional goals.
Show how your creativity is a transferable skill.
For example, "My ability to think differently will be essential in my computer science studies, where novel solutions are key to tackling complex algorithms."
Q: What to avoid?
A:
Generic descriptions of yourself as "creative" without examples.
Focusing on a simple hobby without a deeper purpose.
Failing to show the impact of your creativity on a specific outcome.
Repeating information already present in your application.
Q: How to structure your essay?
A:
Begin with a powerful example of your creativity in action.
Detail the process and the challenge you overcame.
Conclude by reflecting on how your creative mindset has shaped you and your future goals.
#5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Significant Challenge Essay Slides
Q: What is this essay asking?
A:
Identify a single, significant challenge.
Detail the direct steps you took to overcome it.
Connect the experience to its effect on your academics.
Show personal growth and insight.
Q: How to choose your challenge?
A:
Select a challenge that had a real impact on you.
Avoid clichés like "time management" or "procrastination."
Consider a unique obstacle. For example, securing funding for an experimental research project in a rural community with limited resources.
Q: How did you overcome it?
A:
Focus on your specific actions, not just your thoughts.
Show your resourcefulness.
Example: "I developed a detailed proposal and presented it to local businesses, securing the necessary grants to launch the project."
Q: How did it affect your academic achievement?
A:
Connect the challenge to a direct effect on your academic life.
Did it improve your study habits? Your approach to a subject?
Example: "The challenge forced me to manage my time, which resulted in improved grades in my most difficult classes."
Q: What is the deeper meaning?
A:
Reflect on what the experience taught you.
Why did it have lasting value for you?
Example: "The challenge taught me that setbacks are opportunities for problem-solving."
Q: What to avoid?
A:
Don't choose a challenge with a simple, quick fix.
Avoid a victim narrative. Focus on your agency.
Don't list achievements. Narrate a single, impactful story.
Avoid passive voice and filler words.
Q: How to structure your essay?
A:
Lead with the story. Describe a moment that shows the challenge.
Show your direct actions and the skills you used.
End with the insight you gained and how it shaped you.
6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Academic Subject Essay Slides
Q: What's the mission of this essay?
A:
The goal is not to list courses.
The mission is to prove your intellectual obsession.
Show your passion drives a pattern of behavior.
Prove this passion is genuine, not a resume entry.
Q: What inspired you?
A:
Pinpoint a precise moment or question.
Did a single book, lecture, or problem ignite your curiosity?
Example: "My passion for microbiology began when a lab analysis of my local pond water revealed a universe of single-celled organisms, not just a simple ecosystem."
Q: What did you do in class?
A:
Move beyond grades and course names.
Show how you went above and beyond the required curriculum.
Did you use a new dataset for a project? Propose a novel question in a paper? Take an online course to supplement a class?
Q: What did you do outside of class?
A:
Show a pattern of self-directed effort.
Did you build a prototype? Start a blog? Intern at a local lab?
These are not just activities. They are evidence of your passion.
Q: What is the deeper meaning?
A:
Connect your passion to a core value.
Your interest in bioethics might reflect a deep concern for humanity's future.
Your love for music theory might show a drive for understanding underlying systems.
Q: How to tie it all together?
A:
Start with a compelling story.
Show the progression of your interest, from the classroom to your personal time.
End by connecting your passion to your future goals.
Q: Final check & what to avoid?
A:
Don't list achievements. Narrate a single, impactful story.
8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
UC Essay Slides
Q: What does this essay prove?
A:
Your strategic ability to fill a gap in the application.
Your self-awareness and self-assessment.
Your capacity to provide a new, compelling narrative.
Q: What should your essay be about?
A:
Choose a new skill, talent, or experience not found elsewhere.
Focus on a personal quality.
Example: Your skill for identifying patterns in complex systems.
Example: A unique project or side hustle.
Q: How to make the story powerful?
A:
Focus on a moment of impact.
Show your direct role, not a general group effort.
Example: "I applied a systems-thinking approach to my family's grocery budget, reducing waste by 30%."
Q: What did you learn?
A:
Connect the experience to a unique insight about yourself.
Go beyond basic lessons.
Example: "This experience taught me to find order and efficiency in chaos."
Q: Final check and what to avoid?
A:
Do not repeat information from other parts of your application.
