Bradley’s administration held a conference regarding the Bradley Commitment, which aims to aid students with their tuition, at Founder’s Circle on Wednesday. The Commitment will be automatically granted to students who qualify for additional assistance.
“Today we make the commitment more transparent, so families can see themselves here as the future of higher education,” Angie Cooksy, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Marketing and Media Relations said.
The Commitment has numerous requirements, including that both the student and parent need to be Illinois residents and that the student has to have completed high school with a minimum grade point average of 2.8 or higher. Additionally, the family’s annual gross income must be less than $65,000 a year and the student must be enrolled full-time.
“By branding [the Commitment] and sharing it publicly, we hope the future students who have not considered Bradley because of financial possibility will now consider [us] because there is an affordability aspect,” Cooksy said.
The Commitment has been in place for the past decade; however, it will now automatically be applied when the student gets accepted into Bradley and completes the FAFSA. There will be no extra application process besides the typical university and FAFSA applications.
“We reaffirm Bradley University’s commitment to accessibility and excellence in higher education,” Jonathan Michael, Bradley Interim President, said. “The Bradley Commitment ensures that academically driven students from Illinois, regardless of their financial background, have the opportunity to pursue their dreams without the burden of tuition.”
Since the Commitment has already been in place, current students who are attending Bradley through the Commitment will not be affected. The 2024-25 FAFSA was delayed until Dec. 30, 2024, and is expected to be delayed around the same time as the 2025-26 FAFSA.
The goal of the commitment is for incoming Illinois college students to be able to consider Bradley before the FAFSA opens up.
“We will continue to share updates for when the FAFSA is available and remind students to make sure to apply,” Cooksy said. “As we have more information about the impact and see how many students were able to serve in this for the future, we would love to be able to share that news once we get it.”