Official!! College!!! Decision!!!!

 YOU GUYS! Is this a dream? Am I actually dreaming right now? Jack is going to join his dad, me, and his Uncle Jon  as a BRADLEY BRAVE!!

We went to an admitted student visit day over the weekend (over 700 people!), and Jack had such a good time that we made his housing deposit, and he is OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL.

He is going to be a history and secondary ed major and poli sci (or maybe sports comm) minor with the plan to teach for a year or so for sure while he studies for the LSAT. But between you and me? I think Jack will love teaching high school history, coaching a dive team and a speech team, helping in the theater department (he is excited to take theater tech and stage managing classes at Bradley) and maybe managing a pool in the summer...

Things that sold him:

• All the student orgs and clubs had booths, and the students working the booths were just lovely. He is excited to join the student senate, the speech team (!!!!!!), the activities council, and the student investment club (they get to manage 100K from the endowment every year), among others. I was in a sorority at Bradley, and his uncle Jon was president of a fraternity (and student body prez-- something Jack would love to be, too), so he is not uninterested in the Greek system.
• The campus tour was so fun. Not only did he sort of want to be a tour guide by the end of the day, but he loved how small and beautiful the campus is. It was really cold and snowy, but we could walk all the way across campus in under 10 minutes, and Jack adored the cozy vibes. We got to see the classrooms, and he really liked that there are only a few lecture halls on campus, since most classes are really small. He had a great talk with a librarian about the various library apps available in town and how to game them all for the best access to books.
• He loved the cafeteria. We had lunch in the new student dining hall, and it was genuinely delicious. We also liked that all of the meal plans cost the same amount of money, so the only decision you have to make is how you want to allocate your dollars (like, do you want lots of swipes and fewer dining dollars? Or do you think you will only swipe once or twice a day and spend the rest of your money at the other dining options? Other dining options include Chik Fil A in the student union, multiple Starbucks around campus, a bagel and smoothie place at the gym, and a few dirty soda counters, with more options coming by the fall. Apparently one of the other dorm cafeterias is being remodeled to include more restaurant options.) (At Eau Claire, for example, the plans are different costs as well, so your choices feel more high stakes).
• He got to spend time with the actual professors who will be his advisors, and they were wonderful. He will have an education advisor and a history advisor, and he met two other dudes his age with the exact same plans. It was great to put a face on who his actual teachers and classmate will be. Also! Bradley gets kids in his program into the classroom their very first semester which is so cool. They also take education classes right away, and he got a really nice color-coded schedule that lays out all 8 semesters. He thinks he will do a BA and keep taking French which will come in handy because...
• He loved that he can study abroad and still get all of his teaching requirements in. History really wants to get students to travel in May and January terms, which will be awesome.
• He got a half tuition merit scholarship, plus a legacy scholarship, which is hard to refuse.

You guys know I love Bradley's founder Lydia Moss Bradley-- think I'd look good in this dress (that is not actually hers, I hear, but it is displayed to make me assume it was hers...

The alumni center has models of dorm rooms from decades past. This is the 1990s, and it is SPOT ON

Lunch was great-- made to order sandwiches every day!

RINGING THE BELL because he made his housing deposit and is BRADLEY BOUND!!!

Ha! I LOVE this dorky photo opp SO MUCH

I was all in for this cheesy video:

(Jack has been on the fence between UW Eau Claire, UW Whitewater, and Bradley. He stayed at Eau Claire for a weekend with Harry and really liked it. We went to a visit day at UWW, but the education department told Jack graduating in 4 years is really tough because of state licensing requirements, and that gave him serious pause. I was team UWW, though, because it is close to home and seemed to be very student success focused. But then! The Bradley visit day was incredible, and we just knew it was the right pace for Jack-- and he knew it, too!)