To clarify, are you a rising senior?
If so, apply to both.
If you 're religious/baptist, Baylor is a good pick.
If you get NMF and Mc Dermott or CollegiumV, UtD would be terrific.
No need to choose now - apply to both.
Do plan to live on campus your first year. You’ll make friends faster. In addition, research shows students who live on campus have eternal grades, are more involved, and generally have a more satisfying college experience than commuters.
I’m a rising senior. I feel colleges make students live on campus first year is to get money, and I don’t really want any debt
@mom2collegekids I can confirm that the NM stipend is $4K a semester - I double checked this when we toured.
While making on campus living mandatory may have a secondary goal of making money, the primary goal is to help you get integrated into college life and be able to on campus seize opportunities. Otherwise, our run the risk of college being high school with harder classes. Living on campus helps you grow faster and makes it very easy to make friends. While not all students get to live on campus , those who can afford to, should. While it’s possible nor to live on campus, you really miss you on a lot Second year and onwards is different.
We visited UTD. Interesting school. Guide was super friendly and everybody was super nice. Wife and I loved it, but both my kids took one look around and hated the school. We could not change their minds at all. They felt that the student body was “too homogeneous” with very little racial diversity, which is strange because the official reports say that the school has a good mix of students from all races, but on the day we visited, it was nothing like that. My kids said it looked like a Dallas version of Stuyvesant. They did not want to go to such a school.
So please visit and make sure you like the vibe. It is a very different school from the traditional flagships in Texas.
@VeryLuckyParent …wow, that IS weird! So it was a sea of whiteness? Or the other way around? (forgive me, I have never been to Stuyvesant!).
@carachel2 Lol! No it was not a sea of whiteness 
Yes, no clue what/where Styvesant is either
Stuyvesant is a specialized NYC high school that is 75% Asian
http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-dallas/student-life/diversity/
UTD is ranked #69 in ethnic diversity nationwide according to above link. Has 27% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 6% African American, 30% white students.
I googled it. If you mean Styvesant high school in New York, a specialized high school where you are admitted based on a SHSAT (specialized high school admissions test), and over 70% of the students are Asian, 20% white, 3% Latino and 1% African American, then might your kids be a bit biased maybe?
http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/baylor-university/student-life/diversity/
If it interests the OP or anyone else, Baylor is not as ethnically diverse as UTD according to this^
@mommdc Yes, I know the numbers. But on the day we visited, that is not the visual impression you got. It was hard to find a face that was not Asian among the students we encountered. The optics when we visited the campus looked very different. The student body** did not look balanced** even though on paper it said it was. Maybe the international student demographics really skewed the visual? Remember, there is a sizable international student body on campus (approx 25%) and that is not accounted for in the racial diversity numbers. If a large percentage of that population were also Asian, you could get a very different visual.
Int’l numbers should not be included in ethnic diversity reporting.
Reports should say something like:
30% white
25% Hispanic
20% black
20% Asian
5% International
The difference between Baylor and UTD are pretty significant. Baylor will give you more of the college experience. They have sports and school spirit. UTD certainly has more of a commuter school feeling and the students tend to be more nerdy. I have no idea which one would appeal you more but they are very different and I would highly suggest you visit both before making a decision. I am betting you will love one much more than the other.
Any reason why you chose Texas? Where else are you applying?
@MYOS1634 I want to go to a medical school in Texas, and I think they are easier to get into as a Texas resident. Medical schools in Texas are very cheap and good. But it is really hard to get into Texas medical schools, even for a resident. It may not be the best reason to go to a college in Texas. I am also applying to Rice, University of Southern California, UA, Samford, UGA, Emory, UT Austin, Trinity, Texas A&M, U Penn.
You will only become a resident if you live there and work for a year. Attending college in a state dozn’t ‘count’ because ou’re considered temporary, since you attend for educational purpose. Look into st Edwards’ and Southwestern too.
never knew that
@mommdc (as you pointed out) I gotta laugh, Baylor/diversity, how you gonna use those two words in one sentence?
@MYOS1634 Forget St. Edwards and Southwestern if OP looking at Rice, Penn, Emory, UT as possible matches than St. Edwards and Southwestern should not even be on the list as safeties. Possibly Texas Tech as a safety.
As for residency :
"A citizen, national or a permanent resident of the United States, who is independent 18 years of age or over and who has lived in Texas for 12 consecutive months and has been gainfully employed within the state prior to enrollment in an institution of higher education is entitled to be classified as a resident of Texas.
@mom2collegekids in certain families it is not unheard of for parents to move where a child is attending college and many people have jobs now that are portable, there is this thing called the internet, they can work from anywhere!
Back to OP’s original question…I’d pick UT-D, even with it’s communter-y feel (especially since you seem to prefer to actually BE a commuter). Why? Baylor is like one big conservative bastion of homogeny, it is undergoing some serious leadership/administrative changes and Waco.
i am confused what gainful employment is. What is the difference between a student job and a non student job. Why is leadership/administrative changes bad? I read the president of Baylor getting removed because of not handling a student rape case properly, is that what you are talking about @labegg I like Baylor because it prioritizes undergrads having research