Bradley University Admission
Bradley University Undergraduate Program
Bradley University Application

The Facts

Bradley University is a moderately sized private college located in the town of Peoria, Illinois . The university is a great research institution that places a distinctive emphasis on hands-on experience and thorough pre-professional training. The university is actually divided up into several smaller undergraduate schools including schools of education and health sciences, engineering and technology, liberal arts and sciences, business administration, and communications and fine arts. The university offers students many options in terms of majors, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of communications, business management, elementary education, psychology, and mechanical engineering.

Admission to Bradley University is fairly competitive, and the administration ups its standards with each passing year. Last year, over 5,500 students applied for admission and approximately 3,500 students were accepted; of those, about 1,500 enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1120 to 1342 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 23 to 28.

Furthermore, over 61% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of 3.54.

The university has a manageable student to faculty ratio of 15:1, however, not all professors are quite as accessible as students would like, particularly during freshmen and sophomore years when the classes are quite a bit larger. As the years go on, the classes decrease in size, and the professors become significantly more accessible. Job placement for graduating seniors is extremely high, and alumni tend to be quite grateful to Bradley for helping them to be successful in the “real world” job marketplace.

The Social Scene

The town of Peoria, Illinois is not particularly exhilarating; however, the town does have some bars, clubs, shops and restaurants that are fairly popular with students, and tend to be accepting of their presence. The university is located in a rather run-down part of Peoria that isn't the safest of neighborhoods, however, students say that the campus actually feels quite safe because it is so self-contained. Most students don't own cars, but they aren't really needed. The campus is quite small, and its easy to bike or walk from place to place. There is also a decent and thorough public bus system that can easily and cheaply get students to downtown Peoria .

There is a strong Greek presence on campus, and they throw a massive number of huge and somewhat rowdy parties throughout the year. The fraternities and sororities are also quite involved in community service work, and throw some major fundraisers throughout the year.

The dating scene is quite vibrant; we hear there are quite a few highly attractive guys and girls with a certain amount of corn-fed Midwestern charm.

What’s Good

“The school brings in a terrific slew of guest-lecturers throughout the year. We've had everyone from Maya Angelou to Susan Sontag here. It's awesome.”

“Even though the school is quite large, there's a real sense of community here.”

“The school really helps you get the job of your dreams. They realize it is the ultimate goal of college.”

What’s Bad

“There are a lot of professors that don't really seem to care about you. If you have a question, you have to hunt them down like a spy.”

”The housing can be kind of sparse. As you get older, you sort of have to fight your way into it.”

“Peoria is a really sketchy place. You definitely don't want to walk around the town at night, even with someone.”

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