What Leadership Looks Like
Leadership is an important aspect of UC Berkeley culture. It’s in our DNA; after all, this is the home of the Free Speech Movement.
Berkeley students show initiative and leadership in many ways: founding clubs, contributing to the community, seeking scholarships, and finding help with academics. They ask questions. They persist. They make this campus their own.
Demonstrated leadership is a characteristic the Office of Undergraduate Admissions looks for when reading applications. There are many other aspects of the application that are important (for more details on our selection process, see How Berkeley Selects Students), of course, like academic achievement and other personal qualities, but leadership is a key aspect of being a Berkeley student and an important way to contribute to the campus. Leadership is something you can show in the extracurriculars section, and there is also a PIQ dedicated to this trait, with that being said…
How do readers look for leadership within your application?
Leadership comes in many flavors. Here is a list of some of the many ways we define and view leadership within your application. The important thing to remember is that when you list academics, activities, awards, and employment; when you include Additional Comments; or when you answer your Personal Insight questions, consider how you may have demonstrated an aspect of leadership, initiative, tenacity, or persistence. Be sure to include those points in your answers.
Non-traditional forms of leadership
Many applicants spend time taking care of their siblings, parents, or children. This can be viewed as a form of leadership. Maybe you are a high school student who watches your younger brother and sister after school before your parents get home from work. Maybe your responsibilities include cooking or cleaning for the household and helping siblings with homework. Maybe you are a transfer applicant who cares for a parent or grandparent. Maybe you work outside of school to help support your family, paying bills, or acquire household essentials. These are all ways in which you can show persistence and leadership, depending on your circumstances.
Leadership in school
Berkeley students are more than their GPAs. We view grades and test scores in a holistic way; that is, we view them in the context of the applicant’s academic and personal circumstances and the overall strength of the Berkeley applicant pool. We also consider what a student has access to, not just what is offered at the school. What did the student have access to and how did they take advantage of that? Some students may not be allowed to stay after school or don’t have transportation for after-school or weekend activities (or may not be allowed to stay after school for other reasons).
Sometimes, applicants have circumstances that lead to a drop in grades: loss or illness of a close family member can include mental illness or incarceration; personal illness or injury; or a major setback in the family’s housing or financial situation. Sometimes applicants are challenged in certain academic subjects.
It’s important for us to know about these situations, and, most critically, about how you dealt with the challenges. Hiring a tutor, dropping an activity to be able to keep up with coursework, repeating a class in the summer, seeking counseling — all these are ways you might demonstrate leadership, maturity, and initiative. Timeline is also crucial, when did these things happen, and what terms/classes did they affect? For example “Housing insecure spring semester of 10th grade and my grades dropped. Took on a full-time job Fall semester of 11th grade and missed a lot of first-period classes due to lack of sleep.”
We realize our applicants are competitive and do not always care to share perceived failures or less-than-stellar achievements. Some applicants may find sharing personal details, especially about illness, as needing “special help,” or perhaps even as a cultural taboo.
Keep in mind that this information remains confidential. Also, when you provide this kind of context, you give us the opportunity to evaluate your application within the merits of your particular circumstances. Remember, too, that we do not look for reasons to “take away” or “deduct” from an application; we are looking for ways to build a case for selection.
Leadership in activities
Leadership doesn’t always mean you are the captain of the football team or class president (although those are great examples!). Think about your role in various aspects of your life: activities, hobbies, passions, employment, or volunteering. In what ways did you show leadership? Most importantly, how do these achievements figure into your academic and college goals? Did you lead a study group? Were you the first person in your family, school, or community to earn a certain achievement? Did you get promoted to head cashier at your after-school job? Did you start a book club (which relates to your desire to major in English), teach yourself to cook (which gave you an interest in nutrition), or figure out how to repair the family computer (which coincides with your goal to study computer science)? How you answer can show us your particular leadership qualities.
Be sure to show us persistence, too. This means we want to see that you participated in an activity (or activities) for a certain amount of time. List on your application that you played clarinet in the school band each year in high school, or that you led your child’s Girl Scout troop for several years. Persistence is a way you can demonstrate leadership.
Where in the application can you record these kinds of leadership details?
- Be specific when you list your achievements. Be complete in your coursework reporting. Give short descriptions when you list activities to explain your role and/or achievements. Be specific with how large was the club. Were you elected the captain or selected by the coach? Is this a new club you started or does it have a long history? Does it have lots of participants and is it a competitive org to be a part of?
- Personal Insight Questions. Follow the instructions for the Personal Insight questions; be thoughtful about your answers. Tell us about your unique situation and how you can contribute to the UC Berkeley community. Don’t let the question drive your answers. Think about 4 key things you want your admissions officers to know about you and see which questions would best allow you to write about these topics. Each PIQ is 350 words or less. Students should view this as an interview and not a writing sample. We want to hear their voices and what makes a PIQ stand out is when students share personal stories/motivations/experiences that are unique and important to them. This is where you can elaborate on clubs/leadership/etc they are especially proud of. No need to re-list their activities.
- Additional Comments boxes. There are two Additional Comments boxes, one under “Academics” and one at the end of the Personal Insight questions section. Use these to answer anything that you have not already shared in other parts of the application.
Examples
For the Academic History Additional Comments Section — Let us know important details about your high school. Is there a limit to how many APs you can take a year? Were you unable to take AP Calc because not enough students enrolled? Did you have to pick between AP English and AP Calculus because they were offered at the same time? Are you part of a special track or academy at your high school? If so, what is the process to join it?
For the PIQ Additional Comments section — We recommend you not to try and use this section to answer another PIQ. You can use this space however you want, it can be a list, a paragraph, a combination, a continuation of your Extracurricular section, or something you didn’t want to dedicate a whole PIQ to but know it’s important information for admissions to have.
