#but if ur just typing a couple sentences into a prompt box ur not an artist and that isnt ur art

[dropofgoldensun]

omg hiiiii i am here from cat (@luvdsc) wondering if you could offer any advice about college apps 🙏 especially about the uc piqs? thank you so much i hope ur doing well!!!!!!!!

yes yes hello friend !! 💝 miss cat directed you to me because i did my college apps last year !!! (yikes one year passed already?? why does that feel ages ago 🤧)

first of all, congratulations on making the decision to apply to college !! i know it’s been hard for a lot of people our age to figure out the college situation recently, so i’m proud of you for choosing to take the extra step this summer to buckle up and write those essays 💞

i’ve compiled a few tips on answering the PIQs (i was actually in the middle of typing this up when i received your ask haha), but some of them can be applied to other essays, as well !! they’re all under the cut (because, unfortunately, being brief is not my forte) 😊

(and for reference, the prompts i chose were #2 (creativity), #6 (subject), #7 (community), and #8 (anything) !!)

tip #1: understand the prompt.

before you even begin writing, it’s important to understand what the question is really asking. for the UC PIQs, this will look different depending on which four prompts you decide to do.

in question one, for example, they want to know about your skills in leading others, but notice that they’re also curious about your resolution abilities and teamwork experience. or in question two, they don’t want to know that you paint and that you love painting—they could be asking how resourceful you are, how you think outside the box when you have an idea.

once you know the question you’re going to be answering, you can move on to brainstorming!

tip #2: write down three (3) key takeaways.

these are like the most basic, not-even-a-sentence answers you would give to each question. so for me, in response to question eight (“what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for the UCs?”), my answers were perseverance, courage, and character. i had a story about that, so i wrote about my experience with martial arts.

i recommend you do something similar. decide on three things that you want to communicate to your audience, and write them in the footnote of your document. your goal is to cover all three points so that, if anyone were to read your essay, they would walk away understanding those three things about you.

i found this strategy really helpful for keeping my essay streamlined while writing—if a sentence didn’t relate to any of those main points, i would cut it since those words would take up valuable space in the word count. stay focused on what needs to be in this essay, and if you have extra words left in the word count later, you can add those details back in.

and once you’re done with your essay, make sure to refer back to your takeaways and check that you covered all of them sufficiently!

tip #3: highlight your stories.

i sent cat an ask a couple days ago with a few pictures of my response to an end-of-year college counseling survey that referenced this tip (you can find it here). basically i said that, when choosing what topics to write about, pick things that interest you! if you get excited talking about it, your audience should get excited about reading it, because they’ll pick up on the passions you have and then everyone’s excited !!! :D

i’ll tell you a secret: everyone you meet, everyone you see, has countless unique experiences that few others may have. me? i spend hours making mashups out of kpop songs. i earned my black belt years after a traumatizing experience during training. i get russian harry potter and spanish dr. seuss books from the library. and i created a collaborative online google photos album for my classmates that now has thousands of entries. although these aren’t necessarily unique to only me, they’re still special enough to the point where, when you put them all together, you get a better image of the person i am, and what i value.

so find a story, a habit, a hobby that makes you different, because i believe that everyone has them. give them some food for thought, or that one-liner that sticks in their brain and won’t go away. and remember: these stories don’t all have to be extraordinary—they should be about people or moments of special value to you, because that’s what matters.

personal tip: when i was brainstorming ideas, i decided that the best way to get ideas out there was to go on a rant (because sometimes it helps to just have a conversation with yourself !!) and i recorded myself, so i could replay what i said !! this was so so crucial to me finding my own voice for writing essays. notice the way you word things when you talk—a good line or two may make it into the final draft :)

i found it helpful to read sample essays as well! they give a lot of great ideas on the kinds of topics people write about. (also, it’s kind of fun, because who doesn’t love a good story?)

but the people reading your essay won’t be there to just enjoy your story; what they really want you to do is to tell them what you learned from your experience. they want to know whether you’re teachable and willing to grow both as a student and as a young adult. so make sure to take note of the life lessons you learned, experience you gained, character you built, etc.

minor tip on ending your essay: if you’re telling a story that happened in the past, then close with what you learned and how you can apply that to your life moving forward. if you’re telling a story that has no definite end yet (like a passion or dream you have), you probably don’t have everything figured out (and you can say that in your essay!), so it might be better to close with your hopes for the future.

tip #4: ask your family for help.

peer-editing is one of the most effective ways to detect errors and inconsistencies in your writing, because, after staring at your essay for so long, you might gloss over glaring contradictions. for all of my essays, i printed them out and asked my parents to help me revise them. we’d meet every other night (or every night, depending on how much time was left) to review and discuss improvements.

i actually kept some of those printed drafts (only the first and the final ones for comparison), and let me tell you from experience—you’re probably going to have a lot of drafts (i think the most i did was seven? but you don’t need to go that far!). this part of the process does take some time, so remember to be patient and kind to yourself :) these essays won’t happen overnight!

enlisting the help of others also helps keep you accountable. one of the struggles many seniors face while writing essays is just... setting aside time to do them. and even though the constant reminders from your parents will definitely get repetitive and a bit stress-inducing, i can tell you from personal experience that i’m so glad they did; otherwise, i don’t think i’d have my essays done in time :’)

while writing college essays is challenging, your family will be there supporting you each step of the way. chances are that they’ll have their own pointers to pass on to you, since they probably remember doing this process themselves! and, out of everyone in your life, they probably remember the most about you (because you probably don’t remember much when you were four or five), so they might have a couple starter ideas for topics when brainstorming. you can rely on them for their advice and their experience.

tip #5: self-editing.

here’s the part that takes the longest time.

use action words. this is probably something you’ve heard all throughout elementary school where they didn’t like you to say “said” because it was “boring”… but honestly, the difference between “doing my own version” and “infusing it with my personality” could go a long way. also, use words that you would actually use in an essay—then it’ll have your own special flair, and not sound like it’s taken from some stuffy 80s textbook!

here are some of the words i used (once again, you shouldn’t use these words if they don’t sound like something you’d write/say): potential, overlay, wrestle, launch, analogous, weave, infuse, experiment, outlet, revel, fascinate, satisfaction, pursue, expand, distinction, capture, range, archive, engage, beyond, build, adversity, cultivate, preserve, commit, explore, convey, naturally

also, be on the lookout for repeated words. i once wrote an essay without noticing that i used “hope” three times in the same paragraph. don’t do that! use synonyms :) personally, i tended to run short on synonyms, so i always kept a tab or two open on my computer reserved for searching up new words.

side note: unfortunately, during my search for synonyms, i discovered that thesaurus.com just didn’t give me what i was looking for. i highly recommend using wordhippo instead; it has so many more options and they’re grouped by the different definitions of your word! i found the synonyms i needed really quickly and it was very satisfying!

avoid the passive voice! my teacher gave me this tip for theses or any other college-level writing. here’s an example of the passive voice: “there was a large part of me that wanted to turn back.” that’s twelve words taking up precious space in your word count! instead, say something like, “i considered turning back.” you’ve just freed up eight words :)

tip #6: final revisions.

this is the step where you fine-tune your essays. meet that word count.

read your writing out loud. does it sound like you? it should. every writer has a different voice, and you need to ensure that yours is pervasive throughout your essay. feel free to use contractions—not only do they reduce your word count (this was a good thing for me, since i had a problem with getting under 350 words), but they also give a more casual tone to your essay, as if you’re telling a story to someone in the room.

next, pretend to be an admissions officer and have someone else read your essay to you. do you get excited hearing about this student who shares your name? if you do, there’s a good chance the real admissions officers will love your essays, too. this also gives you a chance to review to your essay as a whole. pay attention to the overall flow. is there a clear beginning and end? do you resolve the issues and overcome the trials you brought up? listen to it as if it’s a story, and take this time to enjoy what you’ve written. you worked hard!

final thoughts / encouragements.

oh my goodness, did we make it to the end? honestly if you did, thank you so much 🥺

okay but despite my relatively optimistic tone throughout this post, i’m still going to be honest with you—the college essay writing process is difficult. it requires you to look inside yourself and analyze the “why” behind some of the things that you love, and that isn’t easy to do at all. it’s intellectually and emotionally challenging, because not only do you need to use so much energy writing, but you also have to dig deeper to understand yourself, and that’s not easy, either.

but i wanted to encourage you, too. no matter what you may think of yourself at 12am, 2am, 4am writing these essays, believe you have a personality that others love and will love when they meet you. you are an interesting person with unique experiences who deserves to share your thoughts with others. you have so many people behind you, supporting you during these next few months. and when you find that you can’t write any more, remember to take time to care for yourself. have a warm shower. go to bed early. i could go on and on about why sleep is good for your brain but i’ll spare you the details in this post 😉

one last thing: keep the bigger picture in focus. remember, by december or january, you will be finished with most of the application process. that’s no small accomplishment. you can do it. 💝

i really hope you found tips that you were looking for, and that they’re applicable to your own PIQs and other essays !! if you have any other questions, feel free to send in another ask (i promise my response won’t be this lengthy LOL) 💘💓

oh, and if you feel comfortable enough reaching out about anything in particular, i’m only a DM away 💕 i wish you the best of luck on writing your essays and i hope you enjoy your final year of high school !! 💗🌸💟💖

[parkersharthook]

Prompt 205. Harry/Evie?

Lonely Together

#205 “What? I though you two were a thing.”

3k+ words

Warnings: pure fluff and cheesyness

“Hey ben!” Evie called down the hallway causing the young king to turn around with a smile, “me and harry were wondering why we were placed together for that weird couple costume thing y'all are doing.” Mal fought a smile as ben widened his eyes.

“What? I thought you two were a thing.”

“I’m sorry… what?!” Evie nearly screeched while Harry just snickered beside her. She glared at him before pointing a threatening finger at Ben, “Why on earth would you think that?”

“Because you guys act like a couple all the time.”

“We do not!” Her tone was getting higher and higher.

“weel yoo’ve got tae admit princess–”

“Shut it Harry.” Evie snapped, “We do not act like a couple and we are not dating.”

Mal rolled her eyes with a smirk, “shall we take a look?” She waved her hand dramatically.

~.~

“Fuck it is freezing out here.” Evie rubbed her hands over her arms violently, the alarm still blaring in the background.

“Who set off the fire alarm?” Mal snapped angrily as she pulled Ben’s hoodie tighter around her body. She was bouncing her legs trying to get the blood to heat them up.

“I’m going to fucking kill whoever did this at…” Evie quickly checked her phone and huffed, “3:36 in the morning.” She breathed some hot air into her hands and once again tried to create friction over her arms.

“Haur ye go princess.” A warm and soft voice said lowly as two strong hands laid a thick jacket over her shoulders. Evie immediately nuzzled into the jacket further before turning around to face whoever gave it to her. Harry Hook. He stood there in low hanging flannel pants and loose tshirt that was both backwards and inside out. Clearly he grabbed it on the run.

Evie blushed slightly and nodded her head in gratitude, “thanks Harry.”

“Nae problem lass.” He slung an arm over her shoulders as she turned so her back was to him. He pulled her closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Evie was comfortable here, safe and warm. No one gave them a second glance as this was pretty common for the two of them.

Fairy Godmother stepped out a moment later, “false alarm everybody! Go back to bed!” All of the sleepy and cold children grumbled and dragged their feet back to their dorm rooms. As they entered the warm building before the two of them could walk in opposite directions, Evie held out his jacket from her fingers.

He shook his head with a small smile, “keep it.” He turned and walked with the crowd of guys before she could reply. She just smiled and held the piece of clothing closer to her body, stumbling back to bed.

~.~

“I was cold!”

~.~

Loud giggling came through the door causing Mal’s eyebrow to quirk up. She knocked lightly before letting herself into her dorm room. Evie popped up from behind the couch with a wide smile. She raised a hand in greeting before a pillow slammed into the back of her head.

“Harry!” He laughed heartily and fell back onto the blankets on the floor. Evie smoothed down her hair and faced her friend, “I thought you were hanging with Ben tonight.” The casual tone of Evie’s voice took Mal by surprise. As if the pirate who was currently getting comfortable on their floor and playing with the ends of her blue hair was common. But then again… maybe it was.

Mal stammered, “Uh yeah I was but um some… something came up. Do you want me to leave?” She jutted her thumb towards the door in question.

Evie shrugged, “I don’t care. We ordered a pizza and are gonna watch some movies but Harry over here just had to have a fort to watch the movies in. You can join if you want.” Mal glanced to the pizza box and half suspected it to be shaped as a heart.

Mal offered a sly smile and shook her head, “nah it’s okay. I’m just gonna annoy the boys tonight.”

Evie smiled and wave, quickly settling down next to harry. “Have fun then! Let me know if you need anything.” Mal nodded and headed back towards the door, watching as Harry put an arm over her shoulders and pull her into his chest. And Evie let it happen. Mal shook her head and walked out, she’ll never understand those two.

~.~

“We were watching movies!”

~.~

Evie’s phone dinged once more making Mal groan loudly. “Are you gonna get that?”

Evie looked up from the dress she was sewing, “uh yeah. Can you pass it to me? My hands are little full.” Mal sighed but nodded and rolled off of the loveseat to grab the blue haired girl’s phone. It lit up as she picked it up and while Mal was no snoop she couldn’t help but notice her friend’s lock screen. She glanced up at her friend who was still concentrating on the dress and quickly swiped the notifications, from Harry no less, to the side so she could see the picture more clearly. It was one that Carlos had taken, of Harry and Evie. She was standing with her back to his chest, his arms wrapped around her body. She was holding onto his forearms for support and looking up at him with a large smile. But the kicker was that Harry was looking down at her with more love in his eyes than Mal had ever seen. It was taken at Evie’s surprise birthday party that funny enough Harry had suggested to Mal and helped plan.

Mal smiled at the memory and handed Evie’s phone to her. She watched as the girl opened her messages and a small smile formed and giggle ran through her lips as she quickly typed back a response. But then she was unaffected, turning back to her work and sewing like nothing had happened. Mal began to notice.

The next time she was with Harry which was only a few hours later as him and Evie were meeting up for something or another, Mal asked if she could borrow his phone, claiming hers was dead. He handed it over with nothing but a small shrug. Mal saw how his attention was captured by Evie and quickly opened the phone to check his lock screen. She didn’t want her girl getting hurt after all, unrequited love was a bitch. She smiled at the photo of harry and Evie, a selfie that Evie had taken. She was laughing as harry was behind her, sticking his tongue out at her. Her blue hair was blowing magnificently and her smile was wide and proud. It was adorable, sickeningly so. She was about to hand him back his phone when she noticed something. His hand, the one that used to be used for sword fights and rope climbing, was delicately placed on her waist. Hovering ever so softly as not to hurt her. Mal knew her friend was in good hands.

She handed back the phone with a lame excuse as to why she had to leave before quickly departing, leaving Harry and Evie alone once again to fall even more in love.

~.~

“So what? We liked the photos we took together! That doesn’t prove anything.”

~.~

“Oh Harry you are gonna regret that you ever challenged me.” Evie peeked her head above the overturned couch and ducked quickly again as a bullet came sailing through the air towards her.

Harry laughed, “whit waur ye sayin’?”

“I am the daughter of the evil queen!” Evie called back with a smile, “you shall fear me!”

“A pirate fears only th’ brine as she is a force ay nature!” Harry called back with ease, peering over the table he was crouched behind. Suddenly the door swung open and Mal came through, looking down at a sheet of paper.

“hey Evie I need your help–” She didn’t get to finish her sentence as two foam bullets shot through the air almost simultaneously and hit her forehead. Harry’s hand shot over his mouth to hide the laughs that threaten to boil over. Evie fought her laughter and stood up to face Mal.

Mal pulled off the suction bullets from her forehead with a pop and glared daggers at Evie. “Really E?”

Evie let a small laugh pass before shutting up, raising her hands in surrender. “We were kicked out of Harry’s room because Carlos was tutoring Gil and we needed to finish our game. I’m really sorry, M.” Evie couldn’t help it, letting another laugh spill over before bursting into a fit of giggles. Harry quickly joined in and before long mal was rolling her eyes playfully.

However she quickly stole the gun from Evie and shot them both. She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a causal shrug, “I win.” Mal left the room quickly and Evie turned to face harry.

She gasped as a bullet hit her square in the chest. She narrowed her eyes at the glowing boy squatting behind a table. “Harry…”

His tongue poked his cheek as he bit his lip, “aye princess?”

She stopped down to pick up the foam piece, twirling it between her manicured nails. She took a few menacing steps towards the boy. He stayed in his position and waited until she was standing in front of him. He peered up with a broad grin. “You are gonna pay for that.”

She lunged at him, knocking him over onto the ground. Harry was happy he kept his body low, as the impact of his back connecting with the floor stung slightly. But the pain melted away as his arm found its way around her waist and her legs straddled his body. She had her hands pinning down his shoulders and her hair cascaded around them, creating a blue curtain.

“weel ye got me princess. whit ur ye gonnae dae noo?” His voice was low and deep, sending shivers down her spine. Mal didn’t want to hear anymore. She crept away from the other side of the door.

~.~

“Were you spying on us?!”

~.~

“What is he doing here?” Mal asked as she sat her bag and homework on her bed.

Evie shrugged as she reset her sewing machine, “keeping me company. He’s good for bouncing ideas off of. Do you mind?”

Mal shook her head, “no… just curious. Is it okay if I stay here and do homework?”

Evie let out a small laugh and a roll of her eyes, “no matter how much time you spend at Ben’s, this is still your dorm.” Mal just smiled and settled on her bed, pulling out her laptop to do some homework. It was mostly silent in the room except for the soft whir of Evie’s sewing machine. It was after a while that Mal heard some light giggling and hushed voices. She peeked up to see Evie sitting on a low stool by the side of her bed, leaning against it slightly. harry was propped up on his side, one arm pointing to something on the notepad she was showing him and the other languidly trailing up and down her back. He said something to her, whispered it into her ear that caused her to laugh and smack his chest lightly. They sat there for a few moments, Evie erasing and drawing things over and over again as Harry continue to point to the paper. Mal didn’t really know what they were doing but she assumed it helped Evie as she had yet to push the boy away.

Mal wanted to leave the room, give them their privacy. But she also wanted to wait… she wanted to see what would happen between them. So she stayed, and observed.

They all went back to a silence once more fairly quickly until it was broken again by shuffling and quiet tones. Mal peaked through her lashes to see Harry sitting on the edge of the bed with Evie between his legs, holding his hands tightly in hers. Mal doesn’t know what she said but it caused him to roll his eyes and slowly stand up with a smile. Evie did a little happy dance. He stood still in front of her, not moving an inch, as she measure parts of his body and held swatches of cloth up to his face.

Mal’s curiosity got the best of her, “What’s that for?” Evie jumped at her voice, obviously started. To be honest both Evie and Harry kind of forgot she was there.

Evie blushed as she rolled away from the boy and began to lay out fabric beneath the machine, “it’s for the Winter Ball. I already have yours done if you want to look at it.” Evie motioned to the full rack pushed into the corner of the room. Mal pushed off the bed and thumbed through the dresses before she found the black bag with her name on it. She unzipped it hastily and brushed her fingers over the fabric.

“It looks beautiful E. Amazing work, as always.” Evie did a small bow at the compliment. Mal glanced over the rack once more as she zipped up the bag. She noticed a little blue tag with a cursive E on it next to a heart. She picked it off of the metal rod and held it up, “is this yours?”

Evie barely glanced over at her friend, “uh yeah. I’ve had it done for a while actually.”

“Do you mind if I take a peak?” Evie shook her head prompting Mal to lay it down on her bed and unzip the long dress bag. She carefully picked the dark red silky dress out and admired the intricate detailing. “Wow.” She ran a finger over the seam and noticed blue thread that formed small patterns.

“Dae ye min’ if ah look, princess?” Harry’s question was low enough for only Evie to hear but Mal still caught it.

“Uhh… yeah sure.” Mal could hear the hesitation in her voice. Harry walked over to the dress and Mal literally heard his breath catch.

“Can ah…?” Harry let the question fall but Evie knew what he was talking about. She nodded again, biting her thumbnail nervously. He lifted the dress out of the bag, placed it on the hanger and hung it on the bed post that held her canopy sheets.

The dress was a deep red that had a low cut neckline and a high slit on her right leg. The blue thread, though thin, was woven in intricate designs along the left seam of the dress. Mal could imagine how the design would stretch out against her hip and ribs once on her body.

Mal glanced up at Harry who looked like he was in a trance. Mal held back the snicker that threatened to escape her mouth, “I like the color Evie.”

“Thanks.” A deep blush rose on her cheeks. “I like it to.”

Harry swallowed thickly and choked out a response, “yeah it looks really good.” Mal’s smirk widened as she delicately placed the dress back in its bag and hung it up. Mal noticed Harry’s star struck expression as she packed up her backpack and left the room.

She heard Evie whisper as she began to close the door. “You really like it?”

“It’s bonnie, an’ it’s gonnae look amazin’ oan ye.”

~.~

“That’s pretty incriminating.” Ben pointed out.

Mal crossed her arms and looked at Evie, “the only reason why I know that the two of you aren’t dating is because you would’ve told me, E. but yeah… everyone else thinks you’re a couple.”

Ben smiled and patted Evie’s shoulder friendly, “Well let me know if you want me to change the arrangement, but I do need to run to a meeting so just call me later.”

Evie just nodded as her best friend and her boyfriend strolled down the hallways. Harry placed a hand on her back, causing her to jump.

She blushed and scoffed, trying to hide the fact that she was flustered by the boy. She didn’t meet his face, “crazy right? That they think we’re a couple?”

Harry shrugged, “ah dinnae ken lass. ah mean… we dae make a bonnie guid team.”

Evie’s breath hitched as she looked up through her lashes, “Harry?” Harry stepped closer and snaked an arm around her waist. Evie let out a breathy sigh as her fingers trailed up and down his biceps. “Harry?”

“whit dae ye say, princess? Ye want tae go it a date wi’ me?

Evie smiled and walked her hands up until they were wrapped around his neck loosely, "I don’t know. I’ve been kind of crushing after this boy. A real bad boy on the outside, but a real softie once you get to know him.”

“Och yeah?” Harry quirked up his eyebrow with a smirk, “an’ fa is thes loon?”

“Oh you know just a low life pirate who turned his life around.” Evie pushed up onto her toes forcing them to breathe the same air.

“Is he handsome?”

“Very.”

“Is he guid tae ye?”

“The best.”

“weel ‘en…” Harry suddenly let her go and stepped back much to Evie’s dismay, “ah pure shooldnae stain in th’ way atween ye an’ yer true loove.” He took once step in the opposite direction before Evie snatched his leather sleeve and pulled him back to her. She connected their lips immediately, trailing her fingers through his dark locks. His hands squeezed her waist before trailing lower until they hovered just above her butt. It was in this moment that Evie was very thankful that the final bell had rung and almost everyone was off campus.

Evie broke the kiss, her chest heaving for air. She smiled slightly as she laid her forehead against Harry’s. “True love huh?”

“whit can ah say? aam a sucker fur a guid fairy tale.” She squealed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun them around happily. “So 'at was a aye tae th’ date?”

Evie laid her hands on his shoulders and cupped the base of his jaw, “that was a hell yes.”

masterlists / prompts