<p>I'm currently at another UC right now, but I would like to transfer to UCB for personal family issues. I would like to be closer to home (bay area) because my mother's health is declining and I'm the only one who could take care of her if anything goes wrong. (I have no siblings, no relatives around the area, and my father died when I was young) </p>
<p>Although most people I've asked this question to says that this is a good and legitimate reason, a few of my friends said that it wasn't. According to them, they reasoned that there are already a lot of schools around the area that I could try to transfer to and that UCB wouldn't care... (SJSU, Santa Clara...etc) </p>
<p>What do you think? Can you guys help plays devil's advocate? Should I also mention other reasons?</p>
<p>There’s logic to both sides, because if you technically just want an education you can get that at a community college, or a lower ranked state school, it won’t be on the same level as Berkeley, but its an education in itself.</p>
<p>What’s your status at your current UC, are you a Freshman? I would tend to think that if your mother’s condition was serious, one could do community college sophomore year and transfer into berkeley as a junior, and that will add to your reasons=you are a community college student who finished lower division work and now need to transfer, yet you also need to stay near the bay area because of your mom’s health.</p>
<p>i think it’s a good reason…i mentioned a similar reason in my personal statement to transfer to from UCSB to Cal…however, i think it depends on your academics as well…</p>
<p>I think you’d have to have the grades. I’m sure lots and lots of people have told outright lies to get into berkeley, so they probably don’t know what to believe. The only thing they’ll KNOW is true is the official transcripts they receive from your current school. But if you have the grades, it’s worth a shot.</p>
<p>Yeah that’s problem. I’m actually at UCLA, so I really don’t want to compromise my education by transferring to a lower ranked school. Berkeley, as you all know, is on par or more academically prestigious than UCLA.</p>
<p>if berkeley is the only school you’re applying to of the uc’s in the bay area, make the essay very specific, but don’t expect to have the essay be the thing that gets you in.
you better have the grades+ prereqs done before transferring.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I feel that my grades were somewhat affected by my separation from my family (several reasons I won’t get into here). It also doesn’t help that it’s so much harder to get A’s at UCLA than at CC’s. Should I try to convey this through my essay or would this make me look like I’m seeking sympathy/making excuses?</p>