LtDan

It's definitely possible to get a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering without an undergrad engineering degree. However, it's usually a minimum requirement to have the core ME undergrad coursework - thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, vibrations, control systems, etc. Example: http://www.me.washington.edu/academic/admissions/undergrad_core_areas.php Some schools allow you to make up deficient coursework before you're fully admitted. If you're a strong candidate I'm sure you can find a program.

That's not actually the prompt in the Berkeley application. Most (if not all) departments still have the old text on their web pages, but the current Personal History Statement prompt taken from the online application is as follows: "Please describe how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include information on how you have overcome barriers to access higher education, evidence of how you have come to understand the barriers faced by others, evidence of your academic service to advance equitable access to higher education for women, racial minorities, and individuals from other groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, and evidence of your research focusing on underserved populations or related issues of inequality or evidence of your leadership among such groups."

I actually found this helpful since UC Davis only allows 4000 characters in the SOP. My SOP was around 8000 characters, so I took that opportunity to move (almost) everything having to do with life after grad school to the second essay. I only kept a brief sentence about my plans after school. I'm not sure if that is exactly what they had in mind, but I'm assuming they'll be reading both essays at the same time so it shouldn't matter.