Even in July, the siren call of UC Berkeley floats over the class of 2004. High school seniors may be swimming laps or manning lifeguard chairs, but thoughts of GPAs, SATs and college applications lurk at the outer edge of consciousness.

This fall, nearly 100,000 teens and transfers will be putting pens to paper to apply to University of California campuses. But UC's much-vaunted, occasionally controversial "comprehensive review" application process just got tweaked, and though the new personal statement section may seem more bite-sized, a question still stands. So, with apologies to Freud: What does a UC admissions officer really want?

College applications routinely ask about your favorite book, your most inspirational moment or, for would-be University of Chicago freshmen, how you feel about Wednesdays. "Who are you? That's what they want to know," Miramonte counselor Larry Cebull tells students. "They'll ask you in 20 different ways."

UC formerly asked in one, open-ended way. Now, admissions officers are asking in three ways, for a total 1,000 words of soul-baring insight. The new questions include: How have you taken advantage of educational opportunities to prepare for college? What talents, experiences or personal qualities will you bring? And, what else?

"The personal statement is an important part of the application," says Susan Wilbur, the UC director of undergraduate admissions. "It gives us a richer, fuller understanding of the applicant, helps us understand the context of their learning experience. We want to find out a little more about how the student has prepared for the university and what the student will bring to enrich the university experience for all students."

But the new questions are also a response. Two years ago when the university instituted comprehensive review, UC came under fire. Comprehensive review was designed to look beyond test scores and grades to the context of that educational history -- including extracurriculars, socioeconomic issues, health problems and family challenges.

Critics said the new review process discriminated against non-disadvantaged students, and some called it back-door affirmative action. CNN.com called the new process "a sob story sweepstakes."

Nonsense, says Wilbur. The new personal statement questions make it clearer than ever that academic preparation and achievement are the primary factors in gaining admission to the University of California, she says.

Announced on the eve of high school graduation ceremonies, the UC application change may have slipped past some counselors and students. It did not slip past Moraga-based writing tutor and essay adviser Carolyn Lee, who worries that the new format, though less daunting in terms of composition, will be much harder to write context-wise. She is advising her "eager beavers and eager beaver mothers ... to hold off until we know more." The topic tops agendas at this fall's counselor conferences.