Hey everyone! I know there’s a similar post about this, but I just received my rejection letter from Baylor. I’m incredibly confused and was hoping I could get some insight. I don’t think my academics are the problem–my ACT is above their average with a 31, and my GPA is a 4.4/5. My school doesn’t rank, but I’d imagine I’m at least in the top 25%.
Out of all 7 schools I applied to, this was the only one I didn’t get into. And I was accepted to some pretty good schools–Cal Poly, one of the best schools in California, university of Illinois, and Penn State, for example. I am just baffled as to how I didn’t get into Baylor, a school with almost a 60% acceptance rate.
I have some sort of idea, and maybe it was the effort I put in? I decided to apply last minute about a week before they were due (because I was pretty confident I would get in), so I didn’t get teacher recs or fill out the Why Baylor section. I did submit my resume, which contained plenty of extracurriculars (youth ministry, officer of the medical club, stage crew). Could it possibly have anything to do with the fact I’m catholic? I know they say they don’t discriminate, but I just can’t help but wonder.
Sorry for the long post, and I would greatly appreciate any replies. I’m interested in attending Baylor’s medical school, so I want to figure out what went wrong this time.
Baylor notes that the majority of the Freshman class is filled by students who applied prior to November 1st.
Are these required or optional elements of their application?
Optional. If it was required I of course would have done them.
Baylor just published a snippet over the weekend about the upcoming class, and their acceptance rate is down to 44% for this class and the GPA and SAT are much higher this year. Their application numbers are way up over the last couple of years driven by interest from football, improved academic rankings, etc. My guess is that not showing any real interest in the school is what would lead to a denial. They did say that they had sent out an offer for a waiting list to 3,000 applicants.
… and that’s for an advertised Freshmen class of 3,625.
Skipping optional items in an application, at any school, is a sign that you don’t really care.
Doesn’t have anything to do with being catholic. There are students from many/no religions/denominations etc. I hopo you got into a school you love! Do well and you can still get into Baylor College of Medicine.
Baylor has adopted a strange selection process in the past few years. I’ve seen excellent students get denied while people who seem much less qualified get accepted. Normally, I would say it has to do with your ECs but it looks like you have quite a few good ones. I wouldn’t worry about it considering you’ve gotten into quite a few great schools.
My personal opinion is that Baylor may be growing faster than the admissions office and admissions leadership understands. The admissions are being handled basically the same way they have been, with rolling admissions like a small, christian, unranked college. With the increase in visibility due much to sports, came increased numbers of applicants, and many are smart, motivated students. However, the ones that are applying the earliest are mostly the ones getting accepted (mostly, not only). Applying later in the application season brings much more uncertainty to good applicants, especially ones that may not show a lot of genuine interest.
I do not think it has anything to do with your religion as any Catholics attend Baylor. I agree that it might be your lack of recommendations/optional items. Have you talked to your admissions counselor? I know they have a wait list. Ask if you cn supplement your application. Good luck.
Sorry my iPad is leaving off letters.
My D had a full ride at Baylor as did her roommate and they are both Catholic. Also, many of the profs are Catholic so I’m certain that was not it. Probably the late application, they are in demand. Good luck on Baylor Medical school and enjoy undergrad.
Oh, that’s simple, Baylor has a reputation for protecting its yield
If you’re overly qualified (and they know that you probably won’t go to Baylor), you’ll be rejected because they want to maintain a good accepted/enrolled ratio