Deeper than “Undecided”: The Academic Exploration Program Prepares Students for the Future that Fits

November 3, 2025

When it came time to declare a major, Kaiden De Almeida was torn. He enjoyed Environmental Science in high school, but his family was pushing for Engineering because of his penchant for math.

“I was trying to keep my options open,” De Almeida said. “When I came for a visit day, it seemed like the Academic Exploration Program helped a lot of students figure out what they wanted to do. I could have kept my options open at another school that didn’t have a program like AEP, but then, would they have helped me? Or would I have continued to be aimless?”

Though his mind was rife with questions, his path forward was clear: AEP at BU. 

As De Almeida dove into intro classes, his AEP activities helped serve as a guiding light.

“You’re thinking about your actual interests, your ideas for the future, the ways you like to work, and how all that translates into a career. Most of these activities pointed me toward environmental science. I was already thinking about it, so it helped me further solidify my decision.”

After enduring a particularly difficult engineering course, De Almeida knew environmental science was a better path for him. By his sophomore year, he was already part of a research lab under Dr. Anant Deshwal.

“We were doing research on katydid mating calls that we submitted to the Student Conference on Conservation Science, and we got accepted to present in New York next month,” De Almeida explained. “This is real research that has real impact, and I think it’s really cool that I have this opportunity.”

 

Indecision and Intentionality

At the beginning of Will Cypert’s Bradley journey, he toured campus two to three times before making a decision. “I came in on one of those tours as a dead-set engineering major,” he said.

After taking a gap year to think things over, Cypert changed his tune and was sure engineering wasn’t for him. But, Bradley stayed in his mind.

“When I’d been touring colleges, one thing that really stood out to me was how intentional the Academic Exploration Program was,” Cypert explained. “‘Undecided’ at other universities was just kind of an afterthought or a formality. It felt like I was going to actually be supported and that’s really what sold me on Bradley.”

For Cypert, the pull for political science still came with some indecision.

“I always was politically engaged, but my big hesitations were, ‘Is this actually right for me? Am I going to underutilize some of my other talents by choosing this? What would this look like postgrad?’ Through AEP, I was able to get connected to different departments and actually sit down and talk through my questions.”

Still, even after the intro classes and AEP activities, Cypert needed a clearer picture. So, he asked his AEP advisor to help him sit in on a higher level political science class.

“Having somebody in my corner as a scared little first-year to reach out to those professors and help build those connections, made all the difference. I would have been too timid to just show up to a 400-level class.”

Now, Cypert is a first-year grad student in Bradley’s Nonprofit Leadership program, after graduating with a major in political science and a minor in legal studies. He even participated in  The Michel-Lahood Summer Congressional Internship Program. For those who are still discovering their path, he recommends feeling out your options, and leaning on the support of the Bradley faculty and staff who are happy to help you make connections on campus.

“That’s something you just don’t get when you’re one of 150 students in a lecture hall,” Cypert explained.
“Those connections are part of the tangible experience that you leave Bradley with. It’s not just the paper degrees.”

–Jenevieve Rowley-Davis