selfishness -- UC Prompt #2

Prompt 2: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

Selfishness, although an unattractive quality in most aspects of life, surfaces over me when dealing with my aspirations.

before i go on and write the rest of the essay, i wanted to make sure selfishness is an appropriate quality. I am not talking about being selfish in terms of not giving but in that i will make sure i achieve what i strive for. Is that ok? or should i not use a 'negative' quality. I was thinking this might not be a popular quality that students use so the admissions officer would actually be intrigued by this...

i think that it would grab attention, you should go for it but try not to sound negative

i think you should relate it to more to a hard working ethnic instead because it might seem for the reader as a negative quality.

I would not risk it if I were you. Always draw positive light to yourself! If you really wanted to write about selfishness, don't flat out state it in your intro. Ex: you can talk how you changed from a selfish person into a benevolent person. But I wouldn't focus a good chunk of the essay on the topic. You definitely should choose a positive quality such as hard-working, generous, caring and provide a unique perspective on it. That way, you can stand out even when writing about popular qualities. Good luck! And hop on it! UC apps are due in just a few days.

As long as you focus more on the positive outcomes, it should be fine.

mmmm, yeah, I personally think you should find another quality to explain yourself. It will come off as too negative. However, if you do decide to uses selfishness, definitely make sure to highlight the positive.