<p>The point of a personal statement is to override the scores and gpa. Not saying that they are not important, but everyone will have the same scores and same gpa, and the personal statement is what makes a student stand out (obviously). An UC Berkeley admissions representative came to our school and spoke to the seniors earlier in the year, emphasizing that they are no longer considering the SATs to be a huge factor in the application and instead will be concentrating more on the personal statement.</p>
<p>I find it quite nice that the UCs are recognizing the fact that scores and numbers don’t exactly describe an applicant’s ability to work hard and be successful, and I’m glad to know that especially, for example, under privileged students who couldn’t get standardized test prep, resulting in low scores, still have a chance for the UCs from a stellar essay.</p>