<p>The short personal statements and the long essay both test all of the skills that you mention. That’s why your school, Tisch, puts MORE EMPHASIS on your personal statements and writing samples. </p>
<p>It’s Stern and CAS that put more emphasis on the “hard” (as in unchangeable, not as in difficulty) factors such as rank, GPA and yes, standardized test scores.</p>
<p>Yes, your math score isn’t ideal, but if your portfolio and the rest of the application are sterling, you should be fine.</p>