Hey Collin, congrats on your last year! I got out of the Army a few years ago.
Regarding the new law with President Obama, I’m pretty sure you can move to any state when you ETS and gain residency. My home or record was WA, and I was also a resident, but I moved to California. Granted I waited a little over a year before I started school, but I believe I could have started school earlier. My interpretation of the new bill was that a veteran could simply go to school out of state and get in-state tuition. I could be wrong though.
I too am trying to get into Berkeley’s business program, having just submitted my application several days ago for this coming fall semester. I would say that the CCC you attend doesn’t matter all that much, you’ll just want to make sure you attend one that as plenty of options for classes on ASSIST. I actually go to a few Bay Area CCCs, but one of them, for example, only offers Calculus 1 and Calculus 2. This is instead of the business calculus sequence I could take at other college (which I do).
Another thing to keep in mind is the BAH you’ll get. This is crazy, but City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is $3,840.00 per month. That’s $2100 MORE than my local CCC. You can also go to more than one CCC, you’d just have to make one of them your primary school. I lived 50 miles north of SF but commuted in once a week and was getting $3,840 while living in an area with a BAH of around $1800. Make it work in your favor.
But really I wouldn’t worry too much about the CCC. Any in the Bay Area will suit your needs and all are mostly looked at the same, and if for some reason you can’t get a class you need at the school you’re at, there are plenty of options at the dozen CCCs in the area.