<p>DD still debating where to go, is leaning towards Baylor, really liked the sense of community, the people, professors when she visited. The money is doable there, but she got other decent offers from higher ranked more "intellectual" schools. Although she wasn't specifically looking for a religiously based school, she is fine with that, even likes it but not a deciding factor.</p>
<p>They seem to have a well developed Honors community. My daughter will be doing the "Baylor Interdiciplinary Core" (BIC) and the Honors program, and will be living in the Honors Residential College.</p>
<p>Anyone who could comment on the honors community or the specific programs? The school overall is larger than most of the others she considered but honors makes it seem smaller to her. She will be pre-med, probably neuroscience. She is kind of nerdy and intellectual, and likes hanging out and talking, board games etc, not partying. Will she fit here?</p>
<p>After talking with some professors she is excited about the research she can be involved in, but she will also need clinical volunteering experiences. How is Waco for this type of thing? Do you need a car?</p>
<p>If you actually want people to compare Baylor to other schools, you have to tell us what they are. If you just want info on Baylor, that’s fine too, but that’s not what your title says.</p>
<p>I know kids at Baylor, but I can’t honestly say I know enough about the school to comment.</p>
<p>The major hospitals appear to be on or near Highway 6, whereas the University is closer to downtown (i.e., not something you’d want to walk). There is a public transit system, [Waco</a> Transit System - City of Waco, Texas](<a href=“http://www.waco-texas.com/transit/]Waco”>http://www.waco-texas.com/transit/), but hours are limited to 5 AM - 7 PM M-F, 6 AM - 8 PM Saturday, and no service on Sunday.</p>
<p>I am more interested in a comparison of the intellectual vitality you would find at a top 20 school compared to the honors community at Baylor than strictly a discussion of particular schools. Sorry if the title was misleading. I did also post in the Baylor thread but that isn’t very active, so I was hoping for some good advice from the great parents here.</p>
<p>Well, I would think it would depend on the top 20 school. Frankly, I really don’t know which schools are in the top 20, since I don’t pay much attention to rankings, but I’m figuring we’re talking the obvious (Ivies plus MIT and CalTech, Stanford, U of C, Duke, Johns Hopkins, U of M, Cal, UVa) The intellectual vitality at a place like the U of C is probably going to be a lot more evident than at Baylor, or most other places, for that matter. It also depend what you mean by “intellectual vitality.” If you mean studying hard to get good grades in quantitative subjects, especially to get a credential, hat’s one thing. If you mean intellectual non-conformity and non-vocational intellectualism, I’d personally doubt that you would find much of that at Baylor. But I freely admit I don’t know much about Baylor, other than the obvious fact that it is a Christian school in Texas, and the study body is about 70% Texan. I would figure that the top students at Baylor would have no problem holding their own at the universities named above, but I doubt that they would have the same intellectual temperament.</p>
<p>There was a girl on cc who turned down Harvard for big merit aid at Baylor. (Too lazy to look up thread–2 years ago? You might try to contact her thru cc if she still gets on here.)
She was rooming with a NMF who was also a top student with awesome stats, ECs. Both in Honors program, both attracted by merit aid. Both from out of state and neither are Baptists.
Baylor has been attracting a good number of top students with $$–your kid would not be alone.</p>
<p>Only chiming in to vehemently disagree about there being no intellectuals at Baylor. Pretty ridiculous statement, actually. And I know a lot of non-Baptist students that attend there. It’s a great school, and commands a lot of respect in the medical community in Houston.</p>
<p>Baylor medical school in Houston is NOT affiliated with Baylor University in Waco. Sorry- I have my opinion on Baylor based on 28 years of living in Texas. Yes, there are some bright students, but it really doesn’t command a ton of respect outside it’s own (sizable) network.</p>
<p>^ This, outside of its network Baylor is seen as being an average school with a massive price tag (It also has a reputation of being the school in which rich students go if they couldn’t get into UT or A&M). </p>
<p>(Of course if you are getting scholarships you don’t have to worry about the price tag).</p>
<p>I agree regarding the meh academic reputation of Baylor, with some exceptions including its excellent dental school. </p>
<p>However, for undergraduates it’s considered a decent option but not competitive academically with UT Austin or TAMU. Yes, top students attend, just as anywhere, but that’s not really because of their quality.</p>
<p>I’ve heard it said here in Texas that Baylor is the wealthy families’ more conservative Baptist alternative to the liberalism of SMU…and that Waco is a much more “sheltered” environment than downtown Dallas for families who value that.</p>
<p>You might want to research recent conflicts and controversies involving the faculty and administration, in order to understand how the Baptist affiliation plays out in academic affairs.</p>
<p>SMU is about as sheltered as you can get and is not in downtown Dallas at all. Yes, the students can get there to go to bars, but there is plenty of drinking in Waco, too. </p>
<p>If a student is looking for an intellectual environment, Baylor is not the place. Frankly, as much as I loved my large Big 10 school, I would not describe the environment as intellectual. Sure- there are pockets of intellectualish, but overall…no.</p>
<p>Baylor Honors doesn’t get you much, either. The degree is…Baylor.</p>
<p>Momofwildchild-- Is giving you great insight. To compare Baylor to top 20 or top 35 ranks schools is not fair to Baylor. It is a good school but not on that level. Although Honors might sound great, you have to consider that at the Elite schools the financial resources that are availble for interns,summer programs and research opportunities that may not be available at Baylor. Employers/Grad schools are very aware of the Elite schools and how difficult it is to get into and achieve. Baylor is a good choice but know what you might be giving up. Good luck</p>
<p>Middle son considered and was accepted to Baylor. When he compared neuroscience classes and research available at his other choices, he crossed them off his list. He’s currently at U Rochester (and quite happy there). He may also end up pre-med, but neuro is what he based things on as pre-med can happen pretty much anywhere.</p>
<p>I don’t know what other choices you have (obviously), but I’d recommending looking at course options and professors/research before making any decisions. Then base your decision off what appeals most to your student.</p>
<p>I have online acquaintances who went to Baylor - then med school - and did just fine. We’re here in PA and Baylor is considered a decent school (not tippy top, but their degree would be fine to apply for jobs, grad schools, med schools, etc).</p>
<p>I think ranking-wise they are similar to UAlabama and both have Honors Colleges, but I don’t know much about the specifics of Baylor as it never ended up as a top choice for my guy.</p>
<p>If your d likes it and wants to become a Dr - going to Baylor won’t hurt/matter.</p>
<p>As far as intellectual community, Baylor will have some very intelligent kids. But keep in mind, For Example, All the kids at a Univ of Rochester are highly likely to get accepted into Baylor but not all the kids accepted to Baylor could get into Univ of Rochester. It is what I refer to as a highly selective Elite institution. I am not trying to put Baylor down in anyway. Its just the truth. Universities that are highly selective create the intellectual community by being very selective. Baylor is a good school, but be sure its what you want from a intellectual stand point.</p>
<p>^^^ True, but if the Honors kids at Baylor live in the dorms and take classes together, it could be somewhat similar intellectually. It’s not like there is one student with top scores and GPA among oodles in the bottom 25%. They will have academic peers living with them. </p>
<p>BUT, do check into the course and research offerings to see if those are what one is looking for.</p>
<p>RE#12 Baylor has higher test scores than TAMU. </p>
<p>UT Dallas and UT Austin have the highest scores of the Texas public universities. And Baylor’s scores are just slightly lower. (None of them are like Rice, but I wouldn’t say Baylor isn’t competitive.)</p>
<p>OP–Did your D decide? If she likes the people, community, and academic opportunities, then it could be a good fit for her.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the comments, very interesting! Last night my d finally decided to go with Baylor, she is one of the Baylor 2 Baylor kids (acceptance to Baylor College of Med) but she wanted to make sure it was the right place with that out of the mix. (And I know there are lots of mixed opinions on those so programs and I didn’t need to hear them again.) The scores for the Honors College are quite a bit higher than the overall school also. She will be living in the Honors dorm and doing the Honors program and the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core-kids move through it together, it replaces the core cirriculum with interdisciplinary classes. Baylor detractors should take a fresh look at Baylor, they have a lot of good things going on! And, here in Seattle, people are impressed when they hear Baylor (not that it matters, but it is interesting…football maybe?)</p>
If you just want info on Baylor, that’s fine too, but that’s not what your title says.</p>