It it possible to apply for Invitation to Excellence and Baylor 2?

My son and I just got to know about I2E and B2B program. He didn’t apply for Baylor yet but he’s definitely applying for Baylor for EA. He’s a NMSF and will follow pre med track. Do you think if he needs to participate in the programs(I2E, Distinguished Scholars Days, Baylor 2 etc.) to raise the probability to get accepted? If then, which program will be helpful for him and is it possible to apply both in different weekends? Thanks!

No. It won’t increase his chances of getting accepted. Being NMSF, if he fully completes his application, including optional parts, and has no “issues” such as discipline problems, before the deadlines, he will be accepted. Optional does not mean optional on the Baylor application. Others very qualified have been waitlisted or rejected in the past by not completing the optional essays. You have to show interest.

The I2E is great to learn about the school and get to know those in your area of study. Of course you get the small automatic scholarship by showing up. You can be awarded scholarships above and beyond what they offer automatically to NMSF by giving a good impression to faculty at I2E and writing impressive answers to the questions they will give you that weekend. But, they are very tight-lipped and vague about how many scholarships they will actually award to those attending. I frankly think it’s very few and the competition is stiff.

Be certain to apply ASAP to attend I2E, it fills up quick. If they do 2 different weekends like last year, I’d attend the early one, so you know where you stand sooner.

I do know if you attend Distinguished Scholars Day you can apply for a $3000 renewable scholarship, but it’s not automatic. I2E is a one-time automatic $2000 award, but you might be awarded more if you receive a faculty scholarship.

Yes, you can apply to both – the applications are online at Baylor and both contain a required essay, but are not onerous. We were in the same situation last year, though further behind the ball (the FALL I2E and Baylor2 programs aren’t until 11/3-11/4 this year). The deadline to apply to the fall event is 9/22. We were about 2 weeks out last year when we became aware of these…my daughter completed the Baylor app that day, and then we called the admissions office and asked to be “invited” to I2E and Baylor2. The online apps were already closed and we were told that they were both “full”, but after looking at her stats she was added without a problem.

You don’t really need to apply “EA” to Baylor … they do rolling admission decisions, and last year the NMSFs who completed their applications and went to I2E heard back with an admission and Regents scholarship offer very quickly.

If you are considering Baylor, I highly recommend the I2E program – apparently November of January doesn’t matter for your chances at additional scholarships and Baylor2 admission, but it’s nice to have the experience early to decide if you like it or not. I believe that attendance at these events is mandatory for both the Baylor2 program and the Faculty Scholarships. For Baylor2, your son will get assigned an extra essay topic at the event with about a week to complete it. Some students will invited back in Feb/March for the final interviews for the Baylor2 program. For I2E, the one time $2000 scholarship is automatic, and there will also be another essay topic assigned to apply for the Faculty Scholarship.

For us, we spent most of I2E weekend talking with existing students and the quality of those students ended raising Baylor up tremendously in the list of schools she would consider. She did receive one of the extra significant scholarships, and that is the primary reason that she is at Baylor right now (and enjoying it both academically and socially-- fortunately, a winning football team doesn’t matter to her!)

My son applied for regular admission and sent in his application for the first session of I2E. I believe it was just a day or after that, he was accepted to Baylor. Every student attending I2E was accepted and they encouraged you to make your deposit while there.

What is the extra essay given at the B2 event? Is it also related to interest in medicine?

I believe that last year it was to respond to the keynote lecture of the event, which was about the impact of the accountable care act (at the time, the lecturer assumed Hillary would win the white house and spoke accordingly).