International to Berkeley or UCLA?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi all, </p>

<p>I'm an international and I've been accepted to both UCLA and Berkeley. Because I have compulsory military duty, I will only begin my college education in 2009. </p>

<p>At this point, I wish to go to Berkeley. However, Berkeley cannot confirm at this point (after speaking to different people) that they can reserve a place for me till 2009. They have advised that I submit by Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) and pay the deposit first and then submit a request to defer. Yet, there is still no guarantee such a request will be approved. </p>

<p>On the other hand, UCLA, according to its FAQ will allow deferment of studies due to military duties. </p>

<p>If I'm not wrong, you can only submit a SIR to one school. </p>

<p>If I submitted a SIR to UCLA, Berkeley would not consider my deferment request since they have repeatedly stressed that submitting the SIR and paying the deposit must be done before any request can be considered. </p>

<p>If I submitted a SIR to Berkeley and they decide not to defer me, I would effectively be without a college to study come 2009. </p>

<p>What should I do?</p>

2

<p>I would just SIR to Berkeley and request deferment. If they don't give you deferment, you can always just re-apply to UCLA and Berkeley, you probably will get into at least one on a second try. </p>

<p>However, if the risk that Berkeley will reject your deferment, and then UCLA and Berkeley will both reject you on re-applying is too much, if you can't handle that risk, then just SIR to UCLA.</p>

3

<p>Hi kenf1234, thanks for the reply.</p>

<p>With the baby boom predicted next year, I can't even say with certainty that I may be given an opportunity to study at either fine institution next year.</p>