<p>If the prompt for your first personal statement is the freshman one rather than the transfer one, don't worry.
UC App support has said that the prompt has not changed and to "check back for an update within the next couple of business days."</p>
<p>Hope that keeps someone from freaking out!</p>
<p>That definitely kept me from freaking out! I’ve been working on my personal statement all summer long, and when I saw that the transfer prompt wasn’t even in the application, I was pretty ticked. I signed up right now to post about it and see if anyone else had the same problem as me.</p>
<p>Anyways, thanks for the info!</p>
<p>And to further quell any fears: </p>
<p>Some UCs like UCSD do not even glance one bit at the Personal Statement when doing admissions evaluations. For them, it’s strictly about numbers and units.</p>
<p>I think they changed because when I search for it in google, the site is broken.
Here is the link to a new website:</p>
<p>[Personal</a> statement](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/personal-statement/index.html]Personal”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/personal-statement/index.html)</p>
<p>On the last page, it shows which campuses do and don’t use the personal statements. Berkeley, LA, Irvine, and Merced are the only campuses that use the personal statements.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Uh-oh. I still haven’t started mine. Is the essay really that important?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Only if you seek admission to any of the following: Berkeley, Irvine, L.A., or Merced.</p>
<p>Source (from rattlehead’s above post): [Which</a> UCs use the personal statement, and which do not even look at it?](<a href=“http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:F14IzgVeV3MJ:www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/materials/ETS10/ETS10_TranMatrix_final.pdf+uc+transfer+matrix&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi8ynR6H7-Yy7VAbfufA-mFAHetTU7MKsTHjvTveC5Thy4M2Dm-bfScugQ8USQEy8mDr1gkMJs70N6r7vgHw7qL4I7j6IujMBNJyQjOHLjTlq3f3iriq_xO9AS27rrryVfb13Nd&sig=AHIEtbR7yab2ebEb1yyZepZReKEmCAQUWw]Which”>http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:F14IzgVeV3MJ:www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/materials/ETS10/ETS10_TranMatrix_final.pdf+uc+transfer+matrix&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi8ynR6H7-Yy7VAbfufA-mFAHetTU7MKsTHjvTveC5Thy4M2Dm-bfScugQ8USQEy8mDr1gkMJs70N6r7vgHw7qL4I7j6IujMBNJyQjOHLjTlq3f3iriq_xO9AS27rrryVfb13Nd&sig=AHIEtbR7yab2ebEb1yyZepZReKEmCAQUWw) – see the final page.</p>
<p>Also, it’s important to note that for the campuses that DO look at the personal statements, the essays are not the only factor that will be considered. There’s no need to stress over them. It’s just that I really suck at writing that type of essay, so I wanted to take advantage of the time I had over summer, instead of waiting until I’m enrolled full time and worrying about keeping my grades up.</p>
<p>@rattlehead</p>
<p>I’ve only seen Haas break their selection criteria down but they place 35% on essays/personal statements. I’ll make the conclusion Berkeley CL&S and UCLA also place the same emphasis on the essays. 35% is big factor.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/images/final/selectioncriteria.gif[/url]”>http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/images/final/selectioncriteria.gif</a></p>
<p>In that case, I’ll admit that I’m underestimating the importance of the personal statements.</p>
<p>@rattlehead - Thanks for posting that PDF link! I had some idea of what UC’s considered personal statements, but that clarified everything for me.</p>
![http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/images/final/selectioncriteria.gif[/url]](http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/images/final/selectioncriteria.gif%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
