I know that Berkeley allows 4 pgs max. and Dean Tom encourages applicants to take advantage of that, but... at this point, I'm just eager to send out my app & right now, I have a 2-pg PS. I can probably tack on another paragraph about "why Berkeley," but it's pretty much going to stay at 2-2.5 pgs.

Do you think it reflects negatively to submit 2 pgs when 4 is allowed/encouraged? What did you all do? Need your opinions because if the consensus is make it longer (while keeping it substantive, of course), then I'll try harder to do that.

Thanks!

Mine was 2 pages and didn't say anything specific about boalt. I got in right away.

Did you have amazing numbers or anything else that would make you stand out? URM? Trying to figure out if you "got away with it" because of some other outstanding factor in your app.

I'm curious, too.

I have no experience with this myself, but I am in a similar situation as you are. As a rule of thumb I would always go with quality before quantity. In fact I remember some deans saying in interviews that they sometimes read excellent statements that are only a page or so long.

So my advice would be, unless you have something good and substantive to add to your PS, I would go with 2 pages instead of just bloating the whole thing.

Its better to write 2 pages of meaningful substance than 4 pages of half fluff.

What about 4 pages of all fluff?

I had a 3.8/170, a kind of unique major (women's studies), was a successful college debater, and had an article published. I was straight out of undergrad. I was actually kind of surprised I got in so quickly and with a big scholarship too. I didn't like it though so I'm at penn now and loving it!

+1 I got in pretty quickly with a 2 paged PS.

My numbers were far from perfect, but I think my softs got me in.

I think it depends on the strength of the rest of your application. I know for a fact I'm going to need a special PS to get in, so mine is going to take up the full 4 pages. That said, I love the school so much (it's by far my top choice) that it has been really easy to fill up those four.

It says on their application's description of the personal statement that many do just send the one they wrote for other schools. I don't think they'd say that unless it were okay.