Mentioning Berkeley in my UC personal statement - good or bad idea?

<p>This might seem like an insignificant point, but how would be admission officers react if I mentioned UC Berkeley specifically in one of my personal statements? Berkeley is the only UC I'm applying to, and I could blend it in naturally into my essay. I'd like to get some feedback about that idea. Would the readers think that I'm just trying to impress or suck up to them?</p>

<p>If you are applying to Berkeley then its better to mention it to indicate stronger interest.</p>

<p>I would not recommend it. If you do, make sure you put in the additional info section that you are ONLY applying to UCB. </p>

<p>The reason I say this is because if you read the UC prompts they are noticeably different from private prompts. Privates generally want to know why you want THIS specific school. While the UC prompts are focused on getting to know you as a person. They seem to admit you based on your character / personal development.</p>

<p>Everyone I’ve talked to (school counselors who’ve been to UC seminars and one professional college counselor that I interviewed for my school paper) say that you CANNOT tailor your application to a certain UC campus. I don’t know why, but apparently this is a big no-no for them. Soooo yeah, I would say, don’t!</p>

<p>Okay, thanks everyone! I guess I’m just not gonna mention it. Doesn’t seem like it’s worth the risk.</p>