“In the space provided below, please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience) (150 words of fewer).”

No big deal, right? Look how small the space is. Pointedly, it’s even called “Short Answer.”

It would be tempting to just casually compose your answer on the fly. Which is what everybody else is going to be doing.

It might be equally tempting to ignore that word count. After all, the notation at the bottom of the box tells you that you have over 350 words to play around with.

UU believes this space is limited for a reason. Colleges want to know:

• Can you follow directions?
• Can you consolidate important data?
• Can you write a great short answer?

In fact, Uniquely U. believes that the writing of a great short answer is an art form akin to a haiku.

Even though the answer called for here is short, there are no shortcuts to writing this or any other important piece of writing you will ever undertake. Here, as with your core essay, take the time to brainstorm your every thought and feeling about the activity that’s most important to you.

It’s the only way to pinpoint the precise moment when you knew the activity was significant, and why.

The richly textured understanding you can now bring to your response will give you a major edge over tens of thousands of applicants who answered the question carelessly—the way YOU almost did.

Click the Next button below to see an example of this process in action.