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thePeorian.com
The Present
“
Intimacy attracts a lot of stu-
dents who want that kind of rap-
port with their instructors. Some
want to go where they are anony-
mous, where the instructors can’t
connect a face to a name. Here,
the research opportunities our
students get with their professors
are unlike any they would get
at a large school. Another good
thing about a school this size is
that the students have a better
chance to connect with each other
socially. They like that,” Schro-
eder said.
Some of the other attractions
include Bradley’s placement rate,
which was 95 percent of the uni-
versity’s graduating class of 2012,
either in jobs or graduate school.
Schroeder attributes that to
Bradley’s reputation and because
its career center works hard on
behalf of every student.
Another key number, he
said, is that the retention rate
from freshman class to sopho-
more class is 86 percent, which
Schroeder said is “very high” and
shows the university is meeting
the needs of the students from
day one. That factor is important
to parents, he added.
“
We let potential students
know all these things because
we are recruiting them, but we
also want them to make a good,
informed decision because it is
probably the biggest decision
they have made in their life to
that point,” he said.
So, why are those numbers
part of what makes Bradley
attractice? “When it comes down
to college choices, it finally comes
down to two things: price and
value, which are two very dif-
ferent things. Value takes into
account many factors for the
students and we believe we offer
a very good value,” Schroeder
said.
He described value as a com-
bination of factors other than
cost, including overall fit for the
student, the size of the college,
whether the student achieves the
desired outcome, and the quality
of the instruction and programs.
“
The whole experience,” he said.
Bradley is consistently rated
among the top colleges in the
country in terms of value. Last
year
U.S. News & World Report
rated Bradley the best among
college’s of its type in Illinois and
number six overall in the Mid-
west among universities offering
a full range of undergraduate and
graduate degree programs.
Employers recognize the value,
Schroeder said, as an average 300
employers attend its bi-annual
job fairs.
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