Hey guys, so I have been accepted at both TAMU and Baylor. I have leaned toward Biomedical Sciences at TAMU for pre-med, but I am looking at Baylor because they have offered me a slightly better deal. At Baylor, I would do Nutritional Science, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, or Journalism and pre-med, while at TAMU I would do Biomedical Sciences. In your opinion, what is the better pre-med program? Does Baylor or TAMU have a better acceptance rate to good med schools or is it about the same? I am just trying to figure it out. Also, I am scared that the social life at Baylor will be strict and dry, with no real opportunities socially. Thank you for your time.
If Baylor has offered you a better deal than A&M then you are in a very good situation, COA at Baylor is quite high. We have many friends at Baylor and it is a very social campus. Yes, there are a lot of Baptists and Christians there, but don’t let that fool you–social life is still very active. Excellent pre-med program. It would be my DS #1 choice but even with scholarships it is still more than full pay at A&M.
We’re in exactly the same boat. My D has been accepted at both schools with full tuition offers, and is also pre-med. We visited and liked both schools, but the campus vibe is very different at each.
I haven’t looked up the hard data on med school acceptance rates but both schools can equally prepare you for med school. Both schools will provide academic advisement to complete your med school pre reqs. Baylor is as popular as any for pre-meds. Have you visited both campuses? Most seem to have strong opinions one way or the other.
Here are my two cents as a Baylor grad and with a 2018 hs senior that has been accepted to both TAMU and Baylor.
Baylor 17k students vs TAMU 60k students
Cost can vary widely based on Baylor scholarships but TAMU is one of the best values in Texas by far.
Baylor requires 2 religion classes, chapel first yr and Foreign Language classes for most degrees
TAMU doesn’t require any of those for the degree my Sr is interested in
TAMU has the amazing facilities you would expect for a huge state school
Neither Waco or CStat is going to rival any major city but CStat has a slight edge for for college related stuff (shopping, housing, bars, etc) due to the sheer size of the student body (consumers), Both about same distance from Austin 
If you want flexibility in changing your major, Baylor may be a better fit
Higher sports related school spirit at TAMU although Baylor has improved considerably in the last decade.
Game day experience for TAMU vs Baylor are not really comparable
TAMU alumni stronger in most all areas due to number of grads, culture etc
IMO Baylor has a much prettier campus with more green spaces and not as many non descript buildings like TAMU
You can walk briskly for 25 mins in one direction and still be on the TAMU main campus
Student body at both will lean conservative, probably a higher percentage at Baylor
You will not be uncomfortable being a Christian/Conservative at either school
Baylor will have a smaller more nurturing feel not necessarily school related vs TAMU more camaraderie, school bonding (non religious), yell practice, etc
TAMU has huge number of majors available as you would expect a large state school
Baylor has a good number of majors but will not have the depth in say engineering that compares to TAMU, no ChemE for example
Social life is what you make of it at both schools. State school, larger, cheaper, non religious appeals to a wider number of students. You could just as easily live off campus freshman year at TAMU and be basically a commuter and avoid the typical college experience. Social life (partying?) at Baylor will be much more subdued if you are trying to compare the two from that aspect. The type of student that normally picks Baylor is probably completely happy with the social life at Baylor. A student looking for a hip, busy town with lots of partying is not applying to Baylor or probably TAMU either for that matter
6yr grad rate for 2010 Baylor 80%, TAMU 74%
Retention rates basically the same Baylor 90%, TAMU 91%
Middle 50% ACT Baylor 26-31, TAMU 24-30, SAT Baylor 1200-1350
Ultimately it depends whats important to you and which school fits you. If you have no gut feel then lean towards the cheapest undergrad option.
@ccsouth that is an EXCELLENT comparison! Thank You.
As a state school, TAMU publishes it’s MedSchool acceptance rates to Texas state schools, which probably covers a good portion of their pre-med students. They even break it down by GPA and MCAT scores! See https://opsa.tamu.edu/OPSA/media/library/Website-2017-Medical_1.pdf
As a private school, you won’t get so much detail from Baylor, but they do have an excellent pre-med advising program, and I would anticipate that any student who is serious about med school and has the focus and general intelligence/skills required will have no trouble getting in from either school.