The thought of going to college never scared me or worried me. I was actually pretty excited about leaving my town and leaving the nest. Of course I would miss my parents and little sister but I was looking forward to the next chapter in my life. However when it came to deciding on what colleges or universities I wanted to attend I was set on one University in Chicago. My parents were on board about it and one of my friend’s from Bloomington even attended the University so we planned on rooming together. At my high school, each of us seniors had an appointment with our advisor to talk about the next step once we graduated. When it was my turn to sit down and talk with my advisor he told me to apply to a few more colleges and universities and not to just be set on one. Bradley was one of the schools I applied too after talking to him. A couple weeks later I got letters back from all the schools I had applied too after my talk with my advisor. I was accepted into all of them but Bradley’s caught my eye. They awarded me a generous amount of scholarships. I thought Bradley over and thought about all the pros and cons. I also asked around because I wanted to hear what people thought about Bradley University. The family and friends I had talked to all seemed to have the same opinion. Bradley is indeed an excellent school to attend. I ended up choosing Bradley University as the school I would be attending in the fall.
In the back of my mind I had the idea that if I ended up not liking Bradley I would just transfer to the school in Chicago second semester and everything would be alright so why not try it out. I moved to Bradley University in Peoria IL in mid August. At the time I did not know much at all about the school. Afterall this school was not on my radar when I was searching for colleges and universities to attend after high school. Weeks and months went by and I learned a lot about the University and I ended up falling in love with it.
Bradley University is a medium-sized, 4-year private university. Located in the large city of Peoria and is primarily a residential campus. It is ranked fourth when it comes to Regional Universities in the Midwest and ranked ninth in Best Value Schools according to U.S News and World Report. Thier student to faculty ratio is excellent, twelve students for every single teacher. Right of the bat I noticed that the professors are very very helpful and even go out of their way at times to make sure you have the opportunity to succeed if you work with them. Bradley offers Bachelor's, Master’s and Doctoral degrees as well as a variety of majors. Some of the most popular majors include business/marketing, engineering, communications/journalism, health professions, education and visual and the performing arts. Bradley also offers study options and services including honors programs, internships, double major, study abroad, etc. When it comes to the student body there are about 4,439 total undergraduates. 51% of all undergraduates live in college housing. Bradley’s housing options include coed housing, apartments for single students or fraternity and sorority housing.
When attending Bradley a person has the opportunity to join one of Bradley’s more than 200 organizations which range from political interest groups to Pinterest club. There are also a lot of fun events that go on throughout the year. Including Homecoming, Late Night BU, and many more. Greek Life is an essential aspect of the Bradley University community. Home to 27 fraternity and sorority chapters, 34% of men join fraternities and 36% of women join sororities. When an individual chooses to join Greek life they develop friendships and connections, personally grow as a person, give back to the Peoria/Bradley community and much more. I myself am part of the Greek Community and joining it was honestly one of the best decisions I have made. Bradley’s Greek community make up the largest student group on campus with more than 1,400 students involved. According to BestCollegeReviews.org “...through philanthrophic efforts, Greeks at Bradley have served over 11,200 hours and raised $70,645 for various charities.” Being actively involved in fraternity and sorority life is amongst the most rewarding college experiences Bradley has to offer.
There is of course much more to learn about Bradley University but my experience, the quality of education, and the opportunities have been great so far and I only expect them to get better. Bradley is a great university and an excellent choice when picking a university or college. I know choosing to attend was one of the best decisions I’ve made.
