Not wanting to be outdone by College Board, who is still working the “kinks” out of its “new” SAT, the University of California has totally revamped the essay portion of its application (unchanged for 10 years)  for both freshmen and transfer applicants. Freshmen will select 4 of 8 prompts to answer in 350 words. Based on my years of experience, this will be significantly more challenging than the past system requiring one 650 word essay and one 350 word. Also, there will be no chance for overlap with the Common Application personal statement (650 words). For more information see link. (more…)