‘This Is Us’ Spoilers: See Randall’s Acceptance To Howard University In Sweet ’90s Flashback Scene

This Is Us will go back to the 1990s and the first months as widow Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) navigates life as a single mom after the sudden death of her husband Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). In a sneak peek video first posted by TV Line, the hit NBC drama heads back to that late 1990s timeframe as the teen Big Three (Logan Shroyer, Hannah Zeile, and Niles Fitch) await their college decisions.

In a poignant scene from the upcoming episode “A Philadelphia Story,” Rebecca and her kids, Kevin, Kate, and Randall, are living in temporary housing and hoping to find the perfect house after the Super Bowl night fire that destroyed their family home. While one housing prospect sounds promising, Randall (Fitch) gets some good news of his own when his mom hands him a fat envelope from Howard University and teases, “You know, rejection letters don’t typically weigh three pounds.”

After Randall rips open the envelope and gets his good news, the mom and son share a happy embrace. Reality sinks in as Kate (Zeile) walks in and heads straight for the Pop Tarts while turning down her mom’s offer of a healthier veggie omelet. Randall assures his sister that her acceptance to Berklee College of Music should be coming any day now, but she doesn’t look as confident about it. This Is Us fans already know that Kevin (Shroyer) plans to attend community college now that his football scholarships have fallen through.

As Rebecca goes off to wake up Kevin (who, the previews show, has taken up a heavy drinking habit), Randall digs into his thick Howard University acceptance package, which surely includes a hefty scholarship offer.

Of course, This Is Us fans know that Randall doesn’t end up going to the top-rated historically black college in Washington, D.C.

In a preview for People magazine, This Is Us star Mandy Moore revealed that her TV son ends up staying closer to his family’s Pittsburgh home, likely out of concern for his now widowed mother.

“Randall ends up staying closer to home and doesn’t go to Howard. I’m curious to see the repercussions of all of that,” the This Is Us star said.

In addition to the flashback timeframe, This Is Us will focus on present-day Kevin and the premiere of his Ron Howard movie, Hill 400. Fans will also see the aftermath of Toby’s (Chris Sullivan) decision to stop taking his antidepressant medications.

You can see the sneak peek scene from This Is Us episode “A Philadelphia Story” below.

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.