I have been fortunate to receive a full ride to UC Berkeley as a transfer student. I was also accepted other UCs, but not with a full ride. I am from So Cal. My children, ages 9 and 12, are making me feel terrible if I were to choose Berkeley since their school and friends are here in So Cal. They said they rather live with their grandparents that live near and stay in their schools than to move with me up north. I am 31 and a single mom of four children. I have fought very hard to achieve these accomplishments. However, my children are too young and naive to realize what I have endured for a better life for us. I told them we will stick together as a family no matter where I choose to SIR to. Family unity is important to me. Family housing will be covered through UC Berkeley’s full ride- so there is plenty of room for all of us. Should I consider SIR’ing to UC in So Cal? I feel selfish somewhat if I were to accept UCB. Any input? My offers are UCI (75% financial aid-compared to Berkeley’s 100%) or UCSD (25% financial aid-compared to Berkeley’s 100%).
If it were me and my kiddos, I would choose UCI. Irvine is so safe and family friendly. Sorry you are in a tough spot, but congratulations on being accepted to such great schools.
that’s a tough spot indeed. If UCI is a reasonable commute from someplace that will keep them in their current schools, that would be my first choice. If they have to move schools for all of them - i might choose Berk and consider leaving them behind.
You have worked really hard and I sense a longing to attend UCB as a testament to that work and to prove yourself in the state’s top program. It is just a couple of years so, leaving them with grandparents isnt a bad idea.
Personally, I would go UCB and move the kids with me. Think of it as a huge job opportunity that you can’t pass up. Families move all the time. Something kids should experience anyhow.
What is your financial situation? Can you easily afford staying in So Cal?
What is your support system in So Cal? Can you easily afford to be away from it?
You are from Riverside County, would attending UCSD or UCI involve moving kids from their schools anyway or would you be commuting? Would your commute be doable?
Your kids don’t want to move, that is perfectly natural. However, sometimes families have to do what they have to do.
For what is worth, everybody that I have met who lived in family university housing loved being surrounded by like minded people! It’s a unique experience.
Children are adaptable and resilient. None of your kids are in HS so they are relatively portable. And at the end of the day, you are the mother and you get to decide. (yes, I’m also a mom)
The question is - will you want to stay in the Bay Area or are you planning to move back to So Cal when you are done with your degree? Picking them up for two years and then moving them again in two more years might be tough. Not saying you shouldn’t choose Berkeley, just that you think through all of the possibilities.
Are any of these campuses within an easy commute of where you currently live? What about family support? The extra funding at Berkeley might be eaten up by supplementary child care costs, if you don’t have a safety net there.
Whatever you decide, getting into these schools with funding while raising four kids alone is no easy feat! You must be exceptional in many ways. Best of luck to you.
For what it’s worth, if you get UC Berkeley student family housing in University Village in Albany, it is a wonderful, supportive, fun environment with access to really excellent schools.
I am not sure if Berkeley is a good area for families to live in, due to costs and crime and stuff…
But, then again, these are not that huge problems, and could be seen at other colleges. And the family housing and full ride seem very appealing. The kids can stay with their grandparents, or they really should move with you. Moving is common is every life, and unless the kids are in high school, moving shouldn’t be a problem as they can make more friends.
Berkeley for free is too good to pass up, UCI sounds fine too if it is easy to commute.
Good luck!
University Village is in Albany with attendance at the very excellent Albany schools. It’s also about five blocks max from the police station. Given the number of students with children in that neighborhood, I expect it would be easy for your kids to make new friends. Speaking as a Marine brat who never spent more than two years in one school, I’d move your family to Berkeley and take the full ride at the flagship UC.