Baylor University Top Questions

For most people, Baylor is a pretty polarizing school. It's pretty unique, so most student either love it or hate it. I love almost everything about Baylor. The size is, in my opinion, perfect. It's a big private school, to where you can meet new people every day, but you'll also usually have someone you know in a lot of your classes. Usually when I tell someone I'm from Baylor, they react with "That's a good school" or don't really know what Baylor is. It seems like there's not too much of an opinion about Baylor out in west Texas, which most people don't realize is in a different time zone. Waco isn't the best of cities, but there are some nicer parts where you can get some food from chains like TGI Fridays or Pei Wei. Waco isn't ultra supportive of Baylor, either like College Station or Lubbock may be, probably because students fear straying too far outside of the "Baylor Bubble." It is nice that Waco is right in between Austin and Dallas, and it's pretty easy to visit either place on weekends, or even go shopping in Hillsboro or Round Rock on a free afternoon (They have great outlet stores). Most of the time on campus I spend is at the Student Life Center, which has decent facilities for a small school. I used to be a swimmer so I'd have to say the pool is substandard, but it has a pretty cool slide and one of those pools that takes you in a circle, as well as a hot tub. I like to study at the Science Building (which is beautiful) or the library, which has a ton of places to study, but gets pretty full around finals. The campus is pretty green and always has pretty flowers (which I swear they spend most of our tuition money) and grassy areas you can lay out on if it's nice out. Baylor's Administration is pretty good in my opinion. Every now and then Dub Oliver will make an appearance, but his wife has a lot more personality than he does, and there's a bit of a running joke on campus that he hasn't been seen since was hired. The staff that I've interacted with has been great. They really have a commitment to the students and want to guarantee that you'll succeed when you leave Baylor. They are generally always willing to help out students. Baylor doesn't have oodles of school pride, maybe because our football team is one of the worst in the Big XII, but that could just be us being in the wrong conference. There are some of those students that are die-hard Baylor fans, though, and they're nice to watch at games and make you feel slightly guilty for not being as hardcore. Something that Baylor's been doing recently that has been making students happy is becoming more green. Apparently, we were the best in the Big XII in that area, which I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I started recycling, so we're kind of getting into the environmentally friendly mode. One of the interesting things about Baylor is our obsession with Dr. Pepper. Every Thursday (or maybe Tuesday, I'm not sure) we have Dr. Pepper hour, where free Dr. Pepper floats will be given out. Dr. Pepper is the only big soft drink sold on campus. At the end of last semester, there was a bunch of controversy because someone started a rumor that Dr. Pepper was being replaced with Coke on campus. I'm still not sure if it was true or not, the NoZe Brothers (secretive prankster organization) might have been behind it.

Baylor is the perfect size. It's a place where you meet new people every day, but you can see your friends on campus all the time. I love walking across campus and having familiar faces to make your day that much better. Due to its size, the faculty can even become friends. I have had a number of professors that stop and talk to me when I see them on campus and that I have created genuine relationships with. The campus is absolutely beautiful and I could spend every day walking through it or just sitting and observing God's beauty. There are many days I walk to class and as weird as it sounds since I'm going to class, I thank God for his beautiful creation.

I like baylor its a great school and it makes me sad that everybody can have a school like baylor. Really the best way to get the big picture of baylor is to spend a day on campus you'll learn more from that day than I could ever tell you via comment.

For me, the biggest noticable thing was how the neighborhood and town of Waco has so many "projects." One would think that thriving and living around Baylor would allow the town to grow financially and be pretty well off. But in fact, Waco has one of the largest populations of homeless people in the state of Texas. Baylor does have its events, like Steppin' Out, in order to try and reach the community, but not enough of the students care enough to participate or even keep it up throughout each semester. There are plenty of opportunities to help though, you just gotta do it.

The size of the campus is just right. In fact, everything about the campus is perfect. The town, however, SUCKS. Waco is the most ghetto disgusting place EVER to live and by your 3rd year here you will want to transfer because you are pretty much scared for your life. It's terrible.

Beautiful, beautiful campus. One of my favorite places in the world to be. And I love the weather, there's four seasons and the most awesome storms. Everything is kept green and colorful and trimmed. The peaked towers on most of the buildings give the entire area a real scholarly feel. It's much bigger than I expected, student-to-faculty ratios turn out don't mean much. Most undergrad classes have 100-200 students. But because it's a closed campus it feels more close-knit. Baylor is a great transition to the real world. When I tell people that I go to Baylor(instead of a state school back home), they usually get a surprised look and congradulate me repeatedly. Waco... is not the most exciting or cultured city. But I'm realizing more and more that it has everything that I really need. I usually stay on "our" side of I-35 though. I'm never bored, there's always things to do on or around campus and if not, Waco's great to get some food or go to a movie.

Baylor's got about 14,000 undergrad students. It's a good size, especially given the small size of the campus. It's not overcrowded, but it's always busy. I guess, even though it's a small campus, it feels like a larger school. It's pretty well-respected, though, especially in the south. Most people will recognize your academic achievements if you tell them you're a Baylor student or graduate. The administration isn't a hassle- they're pretty ambivalent towards students. The main administrative controversy is a tenure issue that has staff members upset. The only real complaint that's pretty widespread is that of the mandatory religion classes. Every student is required to take two semesters of Christian Scriptures and Heritage, as well as two semesters of Chapel. However, most students get those out of the way during freshman year and continue their college career without complaint.

Baylor is a great size. There are lots of options on campus, but classes are small within your major. Waco isn't as bad as people think it will be, especially since there is so much to do around campus. The academics are better than expected, and improving in huge ways. It's a very exciting time to be at Baylor.

Great Size!! The professors are second to none! You will meet the people you will know the rest of your life!

Baylor... home of the rich, the white and the clueless. The only thing that i enjoy about Baylor is their academic program. The politics, the presumptions, and the copious amounts of ridiculous rules.... not so wonderful. I spend as much time OFF the campus as I can, dont get me wrong, it is beautiful and well kept... but i have no desire to spend any more time being judged by my peers than is necessary. The town sucks, there arent that many good places to go out, there arent really any good places period. I love Baylor because i know that i am getting a good education, but i wish that i would have done more research before moving across the country to go here.... i dont think that it is as good of a fit as another college might have been.

I really like Baylor, it's big enough to where you always meet new people, but small enough to where you see people you know often around campus. You get great one on one attention from the staff if you look for it, they'll take good care of you if you need help. Teaching can be subpar in some areas, but mostly the teachers are pretty good. Class size is generally small, and many teachers will learn your name by the end of the semester. Baylor has a good name to it, and people generally respond by agreeing that it is a good school. Waco isn't necesarrily the best college town around, the people aren't all supportive of the school like they might be in College Station or Lubbock. Waco also isn't the best for having things to do, but it is very close to Dallas and Austin, making it easy to visit those places on the weekends. School pride isn't the highest, there are some Baylor-ed out people, but for the most part we're pretty relaxed, not intense like some UT people may be. When the biggest scandal on campus is that Dr. Pepper may be replaced by Coke, you know you're at a Christian university. It's nice that Baylor is going more green, and we've done a lot to try and help the environment, especially in the last year. The people are pretty nice and the staff is helpful, the education is good, I'd recommend Baylor to anyone looking for a college, but it is a very unique college that doesn't suit everyone, most people either love it or hate it.

baylor is a great school for staying grounded in your faith yet still feeling like you have the typical college experience. a lot of christian universities are extremely small and have a lot of rule but baylor is big enough where you choose how involved you want to be with the university and are not bombarded with pointless rules.

Baylor has tons of extracurriculars to get involved with such as greek life, intramurals, student foundation and on-campus ministries... There is always an opportunity to 'experience' another culture, get free food, or enjoy one another. Living in the dorms was memorable and challenging, but I am thankful for the opportunity. A lot of students are proactive about the environment or poverty and try to do what they can to help.

The best thing about Baylor is the science building. It's huge and beautiful. The science building is what attracts me to Baylor. One thing I would change: well there are actually many things I would change about Baylor. For starters, when I came to orientation at Baylor, I was told that I would be taught by professors only and my classes were going to be small. So far, I have been taught by two grad students, who didn't do the best job at teaching. Also, I have yet to have a small class. I understand that I'm taking science classes that are normally large, but my science professor even commented on the size of the class. I received an email from him at the beginning of the year and he was like I know you were told you were going to have small classes, but this isn't going to be one of them. Baylor is just the right size. It's big enough to have a variety of people, but small enough that you pass your friends everyday. When I tell people I go to Baylor, I get mixed reactions. Some people are like "WOW! That's really impressive. You must be really smart." Other people are like "oh you must be some baptist girl who doesn't go out and party much." This is all false. I do go out and have fun, whether it be a party or bowling. I hate that people view Baylor students as rich stuck up kids who don't have any fun. I spend most of my time in my dorm or in the science building studying. Baylor is not a college town. Waco, is well not a place I'd be happy to say I was from. Baylor's administration. The professors are friendly and are willing to help you out if you need it. The biggest controversy right now, is that Baylor is wasting it's money on stupid logos because they are so concerned about their stupid "ivy league" image. Who cares about a stupid logo?! I don't pick a school on whether their logo is two interlocking letters or if its the whole name of the school. Who is Baylor trying to impress? It's obviously not the students who go here. If they are so concerned about image, then why aren't they more concerned about the students. I mean, hello, I'm Baylor's image. We,as students, are Baylor's propoganda. We talk bad about Baylor, then there goes Baylor's reputation. If I'm not happy with Baylor I will express it to those that are interested in coming to Baylor and tell them Baylor's flaws. For example, Baylor doesn't have enough classes or class space for people who need to take those classes to graduate. I needed to take physics and genetics to graduate and take the MCAT. I have to have all those classes done plus the other required classes by the end of junior year. Now, Baylor being a huge science school, you would think they would have more classes. Maybe, Baylor should look in on hiring more professors instead of chaging some stupid logo. Well, the most frequent complaints recently have been about the logo being changed. No one is happy about it, except for the marketing advisers who are going to be making money off of this change. And the other main complaint is how difficult it is to get into the classes that you need to take to graduate.

If I had it to do all over again, I would not have picked Baylor. I thought, "Great, Baylor is a larger school in a warm weather environment with a Big 12 football team. This will be fun!" I have never been more incorrect. Baylor tricks you. They show you the pretty campus and new science building and you are sold! They show you the new renovated area with restaurants like Crickets and Ninfas and students think that all of Waco is like that. It is all a facade. In my admissions essay, I wrote about how safe I felt on Baylor's campus when I visited. My first weekend as a student, my car was broken into and my stereo was stolen. There is absolutely nothing to do in Waco. It is a gross and dangerous city. Homeless people peddle their carts around the perimeter of campus and right across from campus, homeless people live under the bridge. And don't even get me started on the Baylor Police. They did not help me when my car got broken into, they bust almost every single party (even the one day we get a year to have fun, Diadeloso), and they are on a complete power trip. Baylor does not help its students--it strangles and suffocates them. I spend no time on campus, except when I sleep because you have to live in the dorms freshman year. And the dorms are totally horrible. You have the tiniest room ever and a hall with a CL. Baylor does not call them RAs, but a CL is a community leader, because Baylor is seriously trying to promote this idea of "community." I have the worst CL ever. She does not try to get to know us or help us do things together. She is mean and rude, and I would never trust her with any information. My first semester at Baylor, I had never felt more alone in my life. People kept telling me that first semester is always hard and it will get better. So I kept waiting for sorority rush, waiting for things to turn for the good. Sorority helped a little bit, but nothing could cure the bad aftertaste Baylor had already left in my mouth. I really do not understand why people like Baylor. I am a social person, am in a very good sorority, study hard, yet I still cannot find happiness at Baylor. The best thing about Baylor is leaving it. I love going to Dallas or even home for the weekends because leaving Baylor feels great! Baylor is not the school it says it is. Beware!

Baylor is a great school overall. The class sizes are small so your professors really get to work with you a lot better. The staff here really does care about their students, from what I've experienced. The campus is a great size, in that you can walk from one class to the next with no problem, but the school is still large enough to offer almost any program you could want. The campus itself is amazing, it's a breath of fresh air from class to class. Outside of baylor campus, there are a few bars/clubs/nightlife spots and a couple parks to go to. As far as college towns go, Waco isn't the most active, but then again Dallas, Houston, and Austin aren't that far of a drive away.

I guess Baylor has pretty good professors, although I can't say I've learned much from them, mainly because they overwhelm us with work and act like we're only taking their class, as if we had all day every day to study the material for that class. When first arriving at Baylor, you'll immediately start making friends, because at the beginning of the year, everyone acts nice to each other, whether it's because they're scared they won't make any friends or they're happy to see they're friends from last year. But once you get further into the schoolyear, you realize how very similar to Hell it really is. Hmm, I think that's irony.

When students here are asked if they like Baylor, a typical response is "I love Baylor, but I hate Waco." That is probably the one thing I would've liked to know before deciding to come here. Baylor, in a word, is amazing. It's the perfect size - not UT, but not Southwestern. The professors are friendly and approachable, and all are very knowledgeable about their respective fields. The campus itself, in my opinion, is probably one of the most beautiful in this part of the country. Most of the facilities are top-notch; we have an almost-new state of the art science building, a decent-sized recreation/exercise building, and brand new residence halls. Any buildings that aren't new are nostalgic and beautiful, like the Armstrong Browning Library and Old Main. Plus, we have a bear pit where our real Brown Bear mascots live. Aside from the tangible aspects of Baylor, its Baptist heritage plays a big part in student life as well. Baylor's Christian foundations are evident in many ways: we are required to take chapel for two semesters, a Christian Scriptures class, and a Christian Heritage class, not to mention the many, many service projects students put on throughout the year. The best part is that none of this is forced on any of the students. Yes, we are required to take a couple Christian classes in order to graduate, but they are taught from an educational standpoint, rather than an evangelical one. In my experience so far at Baylor, students and their beliefs have always been respected. Now, with all this good, there has to be some bad, and that brings me to the not-so-great city of Waco, Texas. Not only is it famous for housing some grade-A crazies (ahem, Branch Dividians) in the early 90s, but worse yet, THERE IS NOTHING TO DO HERE. Granted, we do have a surprisingly decent zoo, the Dr. Pepper Museum, and a large park along the Brazos River, but those are strictly daytime activities. If you are into big-city nightlife, you'll have to drive an hour and a half either north to Dallas, or south to Austin. This tends to be a given for the weekends, as you can see by the nearly empty parking lots come Friday at 3pm. And THEN, perhaps the very worst part about Waco, and the part that I wish someone had told me, is that it is not a safe city to live in. You know that park I was talking about? Ask ANYone about it, and they'll tell you "Oh yeah it's gorgeous in the daytime. But DON'T go there at night, you WILL be mugged/raped/stabbed." You'd think that such a highly-esteemed university with all kinds of funding would be in a nice little college town that caters to its every need. Sadly, no. Not even close. I hate to say anything bad about my Baylor experience, but it's important, and I'm sure parents would be thankful to know these things ahead of time. If you don't live within the "Baylor bubble" (the 5 mile radius surrounding the campus), then invest in a security system. Seriously. And even if you live close to campus, I'd do it anyway. Safety first!

Baylor claims to be a Christian campus but it focuses more on exclusion and judgement than the acceptance and love they claim to preach.

Baylor is something of tumor in the Waco community. The school has a very wealthy student population and the school itself flaunts a well-manicured campus. This taste for the expensive contrasts with one of the most economically disadvantaged cities in Texas. Many Wacoans disaprove of the behavior of the Baylor students. A self-contained nature predominates the capmus, which has created a term to summarize this realtionship: The Baylor Bubble. The School prides itself on Christian ideals, tradition, and community.