Will someone please rank the these schools by the excellence of the following categories above?
Rice, UT Austin, Baylor, A&M
I know Rice is at the top, but I’m more concerned about the other three. Does anyone know if UT’s premed prep is pretty good?
<p>Rice
UT
TAMU
Austin College (pre-med)</p>
<p>Baylor doesn't belong on that list. You do know that Baylor University has absolutely nothing to do with Baylor Medical School. They aren't related.</p>
<p>Baylor doesn't belong on any list. Sorry-couldn't resist.</p>
<p>cough<em>AGREE</em>cough^^^</p>
<p>I was just wondering what personal experiences y'all have had with Baylor that have left such a sour taste in your mouth. There are several schools I don't like very much but I don't seek out every thread mentioning those schools. Each of you have posted negative comments about Baylor without ever saying what your experience was. Just wondering if you would share. If it's simply that it's a conservative Baptist affiliated college and that is not your cup of joe, then say that. That is not a "scoop". </p>
<p>To the OP, Baylor does a yeoman job of getting students into med school. Although Baylor Med and Baylor are no longer part of the same entity, the Baylor/Baylor Med combined degree program is one of the most sought after combined degrees in the nation. The facilities and the new science center are top-notch.</p>
<p>Baylor doesn't apologize for what it is, nor has it ever pretended to be anything other than the world's largest Baptist University. My daughter has zero interest in attending as we are neither Baptist nor conservative. But in Texas and elsewhere there are many students who are Baptist/and or conservative and for them , and some moderates, Baylor would be a great choice. It is and has been an academic equal to TCU and SMU for far less money and it's ratings (although recently lowered by the dethroned administration's decidedly non-academic excesses) bear that out. Baylor graduates have served the state very well in positions of great power and prestige in recent years and in numbers far outstripping their tiny percentage of the populace. (How do you think they got in the Big 12? That still grates on the Frog and Pony fans.) </p>
<p>The interim president is a fine and thoughtful man and I believe he will serve Baylor well. You should check each of the schools out yourself.</p>
<p>I'd add Southwestern to your list, I also highly recommend Austin and I'd look at Hendrix in Arkansas for close-by pre-med excellence. Good luck.</p>
<p>SMU - - - Ramos, need I saw more?</p>
<p>Lol SMU's tuition is about as much as an ivy and I'd think I'd get a better education at UT anyway...so X that thought out.</p>
<p>Oh..I never knew that...</p>
<p>Baylor- even under the new president there is censoring of the academic curriculum. My academic friends who teach at other universities say that this will lessen with time, but is still happening. My experience with Baylor administration and faculty (in my professional life- not my parent life) is that there is a lot of hypocricy going on. The same criticisms that are often made of the fundamentalist Christians can be made of the underlying Baylor mentality.
As far as experiences in my parent life, I know a number of Baylor students who say the school is a campus filled with hypocricy. They all swear obedience to coed visitation rules, alcohol rules etc., and then completely ignore all of them. The drinking and drug problem is huge- but more underground.<br>
We all have our opinions about schools, and mine is that unless someone wants to be fairly close to home (Texas resident) or gets a financial offer they can't refuse, and can't get into one of the better Texas universities, there is nothing about Baylor that would make it a choice over many better options.</p>
<p>curmudgeon,</p>
<p>I would not say Baylor is "far less money" at all...
FROM CB WEBSITE:
Tuition alone-
Baylor 21,170
TCU 21,320</p>
<p>Most of the reasons you said I might not like Baylor are mostly the reasons I don't. Everyone I know that has gone there is someone that I strongly dislike, I think the school is hideous, in one of the worst cities in Texas, and I have a strong dislike for mostly anything Baptist.</p>
<p>And yes, you would get a better education at UT, plus more "prestige" (if you plan on living outside DFW).</p>
<p>kcirsch, don't apply. They don't like you either. They have never pretended to like you ,and you never considered them so why post? (please go to the BU site and look at the automatic merit awards.) Baylor is far more affordable to the average CC'er than TCU and loads more than SMU. The tuition increases are one reason the ex-prez is now EX-PREZ. BTW, where do you live? And don't say Dallas if you live in McKinney or Plano. (FYI , I live on a ranch 30 minutes or more West of Baylor and Waco.)</p>
<p>So, MOWC, no personal experience at all? Well, I have 30 years experience in or near the campus and I can allay your fears. There is no greater hypocrisy under the Baylor that exists today, that will be soon , or the Baylor of Presidents McCall amd Reynolds before, than at any church related and supported institution with hormonal teenagers and those who seek mind altering substances and can't buy condoms on campus (that includes a number of top Catholic schools, do they rate highly with you?). Don't fret anymore about it. During the very dark time that Baylor was under the helm of a fanatic who was unabashedly building a large version of Wheaton (Illinois) hypocrisy would have been very mild criticism. </p>
<p>After the magnificent rescue of Baylor from the fundamentaliists led by Dr. Reynolds in the 80's, (fascinating history ) they allowed a trojan horse within their walls and it just about killed all that was right about the school. You will find no one more critical of that reign of doctrinal terror than yours truly. It is thankfully over and the architects have been pastured and I can again recommend the school without hesitation to those of a moderate to conservative bent. Liberals will always find a Baptist school, whether it be Furman, Wake, or Mercer a bit off-putting but not intolerable if the administration values scholarship and the catholic (little c) intent of the university. (I personally feel the same concerns about schools heavily influenced by any other church.)</p>
<p>Again, I implore the OP to check Baylor's pre-med acceptance rate and I think you'll be happy with what you find. </p>
<p>To MOWC, my opinion (and I'm labeling it as such) and that of most Texans I come in contact with is that Baylor has a fine reputation for serving middle class students, in business and in gaining acceptance to grad and professional schools. OTOH, SMU is just a school attended by party girls and trust fund bubbas, all living in designer decorated dorm rooms and apartments. ;) My wealthiest friend's son attended SMU and when we went to move him in we both thought it was the grossest display of wealth since Tut.Deep wallets and shallow morals. But,somehow I don't believe you'll agree. LOL. As always that's just an opinion. Everybody's got one, now you have mine.</p>
<p>Well aren't you just a bundle of joy.
I think alot of people view Baylor as the "rich RELIGIOUS kid's school" while SMU is just the "rich cityslicker kid's school"</p>
<p>It's very difficult to place a school that supports creationism over science on a list of top science/research schools. The OP asked about science/research. Look at any national ranking and you won't find Baylor in the same group as the ones I mentioned.</p>
<p>I have spent a semester on the Baylor campus and yes, the student body does drink like fish and the fraternities hold their functions out of town and overnight for obvious reasons. Baylor students are really no different than SMU, TCU, Tulane, Vandy, etc in terms of wealth and the display of it. You'll find plenty of Lexus on sorority row.</p>
<p>Again, Baylor wouldn't appeal to my kid and probably not too many on the board would find an overtly religious school to their liking. I personally know 50 Baylor professors and not one believes in Creationism over science. These are the professors that ultimately ousted the recent administration for their unscientific, un-academic focus ( and apologies and refunds should be given to students who had to endure his tenure.) . Y'all need to get with the program and keep up with the changes. Google Bill Underwood's name. I think he will quell the criticism rather quickly and he has a mandate to do so.</p>
<p>I totally agree with what you said about SMU, the exception being many of the kids in the music/arts programs. It is referred to in Dallas as "Highland Park High School North". I do envy its network in the Dallas community, though.
I have an informal test that I use- would I be willing to pay the tuition at X school if my child applied, wanted to go and was accepted. There are only a few schools that I answer "no" to- and this is a personal opinion. Baylor and SMU (not a problem since neither of my kids would ever consider either), Tulane, NYU (undergrad), Pepperdine and BU. There may be a few more, but these are the ones which stand out. I am open-minded and have one liberal and one conservative child- my mind can be changed. Some schools make my list because of underlying values, such as Baylor, and some I simply don't think are worth the money.</p>
<p>and bandit, BU kids drinking? Is that the only school where alchohol is consumed? I thought there were more.Before the hypocrisy charge is laid lets get after Notre Dame and Georgetown with the same brush. I do believe some of those students are having sex :eek:. Baptist kids are rebellious at times, too. What's the story here? Hypocrisy? Read the handbooks of some other church affiliated schools before you level that one. Try Providence or Villanova.</p>
<p>
No, not exactly. The OP asked about Pre-med, science and research. I responded to the pre-med part of the question..</p>
<p>National Doctoral = undergrad???</p>
<p>US News and World Report , which seems to get the most press play, ranks UG colleges by type, National Universities (with doctoral programs), LAC's , Comprehensive colleges, etc.. I have always used the idea that "National" universities grant doctoral degrees,"National" LAC's do not- so my short hand rendition ,although confusing, is National Doctoral (Degree Granting Institutions).</p>
<p>The faculty senate at Baylor by a large majority gave a no-confidence vote to the now former Chancellor in part due to his basing some faculty appointments on a religious litmus test. This took some guts on the part of the faculty members that voted against him. I too believe that Baylor is on the comeback trail.</p>