CSU EOP Autobiographical Statements

30. List any volunteer, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which you are or have been
involved in the past two years.

Ans: I had attend volunteer Rosemead City clean up, its a volunteer that pick up trash and
using cleaning tools. In this volunteer, I learned about keeping the community clean is not an
accessible job, so we have to be responsible on what we throw on floor and treasuring is
inevitable and right. Beside the volunteer for the community, I also did a school volunteer that
torturing english learners after school in any subjects, but mainly is on english. In this volunteer,
I recalled the memories of the times that start to learn English, and I realized that using first
language to learn a new language is better and make students more willing to learn. Although I
didnt have done many of volunteer and extracurricular activities but each of my experience
gave me lots of memories and inspiration.

31. Why would you like to attend college? Discuss your career and personal goals. Are there any
particular circumstances, school experiences, or persons that influenced your preparation or motivation to
attend college (e.g., cultural/financial background, family, teachers, schools you attended)? Please
explain.

Ans: I want to attend to college, because I believe gaining knowledge in campus can help me in
future, going to college also can gain more experience, and I think go to college can prove my
passion and ability for my future job. My career goal is to be a marketing executive, but my goal
right now is do my best in every challenges. Yes, there are people that make me willing to
attend college, she is one of my teacher in high school. She exhort on the reasons of attend
college and remind us its the time to care our future. She made me know more about college,
and she is the one that make me conscious of all students have the opportunities of attend to the
colleges they want. Before having her class, I feel going to a 4 years university is just a dream,

and aware about Im just a person that can only go to community college, but my mind changed
after I knew my opportunity that going to 4 years is not zero. Not only my teacher, my parents is
also a reason of me want to attend college. In their generation, college is expensive and only rich
or extremely smart people can attend, but in now generation everyone can go to college. My
parents hope I can attend and finish college, not because of they think I can get a good job after
college; is because they think I need to gain knowledge that they dont know, then their
expectation also became another reason of me want to attend college.

32. Briefly discuss your academic background. Did you utilize any additional support at your high school,
such as tutoring? Do your grades in high school and/or college reflect your academic ability or potential?

Ans: Im still English learner in my freshmen year in high school, so the classes that I took in
that year is all SEI classes until sophomore year. In my junior year, all my classes changed to
regular classes, and had a honor and classes that I interest in. In my senior year, meaning the
year right now, I take all regular classes and having an AP class. My A-G classes will be
complete if I pass the classes in this year, and my academic GPA in sophomore and junior is
3.63. I didnt utilize any additional support in my high school years. In academic subjects, I did
my best to have my best grade even they are not the subjects that I good at. I dont think my
grades reflect all of my ability, because Im not a person that just caring about grades, I hope to
having classes that I like in my high school, and these can help me knowing more about me and
to critical my potential. However, try the best and work hard in the classes that taking is essential
and meaningful for me.

33. Briefly describe your familys economic background. Include information about your financial
challenges.

Ans: I will describe my family as a middle class, my parents don't live with me because they still
living in Hong Kong, so my guardian is my grandmother and I live with my grandparents and
my aunt. My parents sometimes will give me pocket money and give money to my grandmother
as my daily expense; for example food and housing. Although the money in our family is
enough for daily expense, it's not enough for my college tuition. In these year of living as half
independent, based on my mother give me pocket money yearly, I learned to manage my money
spend myself and learn skills of take care myself by learning from my grandmother and aunt.

34. Please tell us more about yourself. Is there any additional information you would like EOP to consider
in determining your admission to the program?

Ans: I wont say I have any formidable talents as others, but I think I also have my own special
talent. There are many people around me that have talents, but what I knew about them
besides their talent was their negative attitude to their talents, even their life. They always care
too much, such as the tests that they took last minute, the ranking on a contrast, and their
overcaring make them display less than their real strength. Because of them, I some kind of
knowing my talent is being positive and sanguine. In many negative situation in my life, Im
able to calm down and give a solution that the best that I can. I remember in the year of
promoting to high school from middle school, schoolmates that around me feel extremely sad
and pessimistic because some of them afraid of changing. Of course, I feel sad too, but when I
see my friends are sad than me, I feel I cant being more sad and their should be a person that
encourage them. From that day, or maybe more earlier, I hope to help the people that having
negative attitude in all the ways I can to make them change to positive.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------University of California
Freshman applicants: Personal insight questions (350 words max.)
Answer any 4 of the following 8 questions:

1. 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.
I believe that everyone have their creative sides on thinking, because I like to think about several
point of views in event. For example, I always like to think something that is special to others. I
always think of strange and interesting things that surrounding me, and sometimes its useful,
because it have me solve problems. I got hints and ideas around me, maybe it is a vocabulary
comes from my friends mouth, an action of what my teacher did, or just as small as a pencil;
Its sound so peculiar? ;and how can I get a hint from a pencil? I would say yes, it sound
peculiar, but its why Im creative in a unique way. I would say the pencil that next to my laptop
gave me a hint of just writing this insight question. Its a propelling pencil that I brought from
internet and in its commercial, it state its unique feature is even the lead you bought is the
baddest lead over the world, it will never break off if you using this pencil. By remembering this
commercial, I realize that everyone have their own special problem solving ways, and my way is
about, never give up and stop thinking in my brain, because I believe every problems can always
have a way to solve; and sometimes my problem is solved by my innovative thought. Just for a
example, I used my innovative problem solving way of doing this insight question.

2. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and
demonstrated that talent over time?
In my life, I had many friends or people that around me have their own talents, and there have
been a long time of thinking of what is my talent, or what am I special than others. I wont say I
have any formidable talents as others, but I think I also have my own special talent. People
around me that had talents, but what I knew about them besides their talent was their negative
attitude to their talents, even their life. They always care too much, their overcaring make them
display less than their real strength. Because of them, I some kind of knowing my talent is
always being positive and sanguine. In many negative situation in my life, Im able to give a
solution that the best that I can. For example of my school life, I like to do group projects,
because of I can know more about my classmates and I enjoy the feel of finishing a report or
project from zero, but sometimes my teammates hate doing projects, and they always stop doing
the work. When this kind of situation appears, the first reaction of me is anger or worry, but after
few second, I realized that it will not getting anything done if keeping this kind of attitude. So, I
will ask is there any questions about the topic that the teammates that make we cant start the
project, and they always keep silent. Finally, I understand the most popular problem of not doing
a project, is they are lazy or no one assign jobs, and in these situation, I always smile and assign
different jobs through the project and encourage or help them to finish the project as the best we
can. I believe on being positive is a best way to solving problems, positive attitude always give
people motive and I believe these motives can affect people. For me, this is a talent that no one
can copy and help the people that having negative attitude in all the ways I can to make them
change to positive is my dream.

3. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked
to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

-Problem in english
-where can get help
-example
Differ to previous generation, almost everyone are required to attend school on our generation,
but there are many people dont understand the importance of having education. In my situation,
I understand about the importance of education, but one problem of myself is my English level
when I came. Although I learned English skill when Im small in my hometown, my level is not
good as others that born here. The education system in USA is great for me, its free to take
classes you interest in and the level youre at, but in my hometown, Hong Kong, everyone
should take same classes in the same age, if we can handle them, the only thing we can do is take
extra years to pick up levels. From the Hong Kong education system, I learned to keep myself
work hard and use the thing I had learn from my previous schools. Because of my birth month, I
have to attend one more year in US, all of my same grade level friend in Hong Kong are already
graduated and attending college, but I dont feel upset, because I taking an extra year to learn
more English is advantage to myself. I had said I use the knowledge from my previous schools,
its also an advantage of me, I learned the math and other subjects when Im in Hong Kong, so t
Im able to focus on my English. When I first came to US, its my 7th grade year, Im in classes
of all English learners, its so hard and have almost no chance to speak English with English
speakers, but I didn't give up to learn English, I read books and study more than the teacher
needed. Education is not only in schools, altitude of ourselves and self control is the most
important issue of learning.

4. 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?
5. Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.
In all academic subjects, I like English the most. In English class, we usually read novels and
arguments; in this two kinds of reading, my favorite one is argument. Unlike to novels,
arguments always go straight to main ideas, and the topics of arguments are interesting and close
to our life. Form the arguments, I learned many knowledge ,ways of persuade people, and
vocabulary that can use in daily life. Not only learning things in English skills, arguments make
me rethink about my life, for example about colleges, future or policy in USA. In previous
argument articles, they make me rethink lots of idea of my life, for example the relationship
within me and my parents, but the most effective articles to me are college related articles. The
articles have many view of points, some are the reasons of going to college, or other roads after
high school. Through these articles, I rethink about what's the purpose to going college, or is
there any jobs that fit me if I not going to college. Within these articles, I make sure my target
and clear my purpose that attend college, English always affect me, and I believe English is the
only subject that can use after education, the speaking skill and reading skill will help people in
the rest of life.
6. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

7. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the
University of California?