How to answer the Personal Insight Questions

Your responses to the Personal Insight Questions, or PIQs, are an important component of your first-year or transfer application. Your responses allow us to get to know you through your experiences and accomplishments.

First-year Personal Insight Questions

First-year applicants must respond to four short-answer prompts chosen from eight options. There is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain prompts over others. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.

Transfer Personal Insight Questions 

Transfer applicants must respond to four short-answer prompts — one mandatory prompt and their choice of three from the other seven options. There is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain prompts over others. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.

Writing a successful response 

  • Describe what you learned or how an experience influenced your outlook, activities, commitments or goals.
  • Provide specific examples of experiences, accomplishments, etc. that occurred during or after high school that weren’t captured in your application.
  • Keep your responses focused and convey your strengths and positive qualities.
  • Write a first draft, leave it for a day or two and return to make revisions.
  • Read your drafts aloud to catch misspellings, awkward or inappropriate wording.
  • Review your responses as if you were making the final decision. 
  • Check your responses with a teacher, counselor or other advisor for feedback.

Common response pitfalls 

  • You write about events that are long past
  • You reiterate information listed elsewhere in the application
  • You list accomplishments without explanation or detail
  • You ramble or present unfocused thoughts
  • You come across overly humorous, self-deprecating or glorifying

Instructions for scholarship applicants

Some scholarship committees review your responses to the PIQs while other scholarships, such as the Cal Aggie Alumni Association scholarships, may require separate applications and essays. Visit our scholarships page to learn more about scholarships available at UC Davis.