<p>Does anyone have any knowledge about Bradley University in Illinois or Drake University in Iowa? A friend has a child who is a middle of the class type of student who wants to stay in the midwest. The family lives in central Illinois.</p>
<p>I know of these schools. They are fairly low profile. I don’t have a bad opinion of them.</p>
<p>As a Midwestern, I can say that both of those schools are considered great places to send your children. When I browse the CC posts, I can’t help but notice the lack of interest in (our knowledge of) schools in the flyover states other than what is referred to here as Tier 1.</p>
<p>Peoria (Bradley) and Des Moines (Drake) are very different cities; Des Moines has more of a big city feel. Peoria more rural-oriented due to big ag industries there. I believe both have good business and communications departments.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Bradley likes the size of the school. He is in their Honors program and feels quite challenged. The students seem to be primarily from the Midwest. Class size is small and the professors seem engaged with the students. Lots of new building going on and the new fitness center is beautiful.</p>
<p>I think Drake attracts a higher caliber of student than Bradley overall, and I think that if Drake were only moved to the northeast, it would be rated higher than it is. I echo the comment that Drake has a city feel, whereas Bradley is in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Peoria is hardly in the middle of nowhere. It is the largest city in central Illinois adjacent to the Illinois River. Caterpillar is located in Peoria, but it’s probably a 15 minute drive to the nearest farm. I can’t speak to the academics of Bradley vs. Drake, but I don’t want those unfamiliar with the area to get the wrong impression of where Bradley is located. Bradley has a good Industrial Engineering Department; one of their recent graduates just won a national award.</p>
<p>Drake has a very good pharmacy program in which my cousin’s daughter is currently a junior, and she loves it. She is from OOS and had very good stats in high school. I know they also have a very strong actuarial department, and Des Moines has more insurance companies based there than any other city except for Hartford, Connecticut (or at least they did several years ago).</p>
<p>Drake has a great journalism program that benefits from the presence of the Meredith Corporation (publisher of many top national magazines) headquartered in Des Moines. I know they offer some good internships with Meredith. Des Moines is a medium sized, progressive city (the state capital) with a decent smattering of good restaurants and cultural opportunities. And of course every four years it is the center of the political universe!</p>
<p>I hear great things about Bradley. One of our district’s guidance counselors has a son there. He was a great, well-rounded kid from a high-powered suburban high school with an exceptional curriculum. I think he feels like he was able to get involved there in a significant way.</p>
<p>OP-I would suggest that your friend’s son visit both schools. It also might depend on what he is interested in majoring in.They are both very good schools, just not known that much outside of the midwest. I second the comments made by olderwisermom and cashel. </p>
<p>(note: Bradley alum here. It’s nice to see something about my school here on cc!)</p>
<p>My S has recently decided on Bradley over Drake. It really came down to the scholarship he was receiving. During our visit to Bradley we were pleasantly surprised by the Peoria area. I thought downtown Peoria was vibrant and progessive. And the surrounding area was no different than any other college. We are from Des Moines and Drake has just as many questionable areas around it. There are just some places you don’t go at night. This is going to be the case with any college in an urban area. </p>
<p>Otherwise, I think the two schools are pretty equal academically. Most of the research I’ve done says that Bradley might be just a bit ahead. One interesting thing I found was on another web site called **************.com. Like its name, it surveys current and former students for their opinions. 81% of Bradley students said they would attend again if they had it to do over again, yet only 63% of Drake students said they would do the same. I thought this was significant.</p>