<p>Okay, I’ll start the posting here. </p>
<pre><code> My D is considering Baylor. They are offering a pretty generous merit package. Anyone out there have any take on Baylor? D is currently fairly actively involved with a Baptist youth group locally. What are the dorms like? How are the professors and classes and campus life, etc. We’re coming up to visit on November 12 and 13th. Thanks in advance for any info.
</code></pre>
<p>Hey Mom!
we meet again!
Ok i just recently ran in a State Cross Country meet held at Baylor Univ. and the Campus is beautiful(we took third! YAY!)! The scenery is very nice! My cousin graduated from Baylor last year. He was on a football Scholarship. He said the professors are very nice and very helpful. He told me it's not much of a party school, so if you want your daughter to do nothing but work work work (as what every parent wants their child to do) then this is the place for her. He said people who attend baylor are very connected with their faith. A ton of church affiliated people. The dorms are ok..... very tiny....but not to shabby. So there is my info to you... hope it was a little bit helpful. HAVE FUN AT THE BAYLOR VISIT!</p>
<p>o and if you apply online right now at Baylor's website, they will waive the application fee....... just letting ya know;)</p>
<p>Always a conservative bastion, Baylor has a relatively bloody war going on between a faction who want the university to become even more "faithful" to "Christ" and a faction who believe it has already strayed too far in that direction. I am not offering an opinion on whether this is good or bad or which side is correct (although I have one), only that it "is" happening.</p>
<p>Dear gabbyrenee, Good to "hear" from you again. Hope all is going well in your college applications and with your essays. Thanks for your take on Baylor. And congrats on taking 3rd. Way to go! Are you also considering Baylor?</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, I had heard there was some controversy concerning Baylor. I wonder whether or not this will have any affect on my D's education there. They really are offering the best financial packet up front, before we even have applied. Maybe after we go visit she will be better able to make up her mind. My daughter is more conservative than I am and is very strong in the faith department. Baylor may be a good fit for her. (Maybe not so good for me, but I'm not applying)</p>
<p>It seems as though the rival groups have entrenched themselves fairly well. On one side you have tenured faculty, the ex-president, and a large number of ex-trustees vs. the current administration, newly hired faculty and a slim majority of the current board . A vote earlier this year showed just how divided when the President was retained by a margin of one vote. I really hope Ma Baylor puts this behind her soon.</p>
<p>As to it's effect on current students, I would doubt the average student feels that much of the stress.</p>
<p>While Baylor is a good school, it seems to have lots of problems. There was the recent athletic scandal involving the murder of a Baylor basketball player. Also, the constant turmoil among the faulty, alumni, regents, etc. over the direction of the University continues to tear the school apart. Another issue is the tremendous debt that Baylor has incurred lately which virtually ensures hefty tuition hikes well into the future. Here are some articles that examine the issues at Baylor. Personally, I would think twice about Baylor until they get their act together. I dont think anyone can predict how the current battles will play out. Anyway, read about the situation and make an informed decision.
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200410/20041022tuitionhike.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200410/20041022tuitionhike.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200410/20041021bdregentsmtg.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200410/20041021bdregentsmtg.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200409/20040923regentsdivided.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200409/20040923regentsdivided.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200409/20040915facultysenate.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200409/20040915facultysenate.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/nytimes/200409/20040908baylor.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/nytimes/200409/20040908baylor.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200409/20040902regentsdeal.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200409/20040902regentsdeal.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200408/20040827sloan.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200408/20040827sloan.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200408/20040824usnewreport.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200408/20040824usnewreport.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200408/20040804enrollmentdown.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200408/20040804enrollmentdown.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/dmn/200407/20040723baylor.htmlhttp://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200405/20040517sloanvote.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/dmn/200407/20040723baylor.htmlhttp://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/wacotrib/200405/20040517sloanvote.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/hc/200405/20040506baylor.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/hc/200405/20040506baylor.html</a>
<a href="http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/hc/200404/20040416sloanemail.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2004/hc/200404/20040416sloanemail.html</a></p>
<p>Thank you for the articles. I will pass them on to D. We have a trip to visit Baylor planned in November. I will be armed with some questions about the controversy.</p>
<p>It sounds like a big mess and I hope this divisiveness does not cause them to lose the ability to maintain a good educational environment. Extreme fundamentalism scares me, personally. But it doesn't sound like things have reached that level. I'm willing to go up there with an open mind and see what they have to offer. </p>
<p>As far as the cost of tuition is concerned, as mentioned above, D was contacted by a representative of the university with a very good merit package offer. Which is one of the reasons we began considering Baylor. </p>
<p>Why can't these decisions be easier?</p>
<p>How do you get merit packages? Was your daughter a National Merit Scholar? Has she already applied? Just wondering. My son was considering Baylor but we don't know about the Engineering Dept. The website called it something like "General Engineering" or "Engineering Science" - he wants a degree in Electrical Engineering. Baylor and Trinity really have me confused as to their engineering program.</p>
<p>Baylor has a very specific merit aid calculator on their website that gives you an exact amount of merit aid for particular stats. Just plug in your numbers and out spits a "merit" award. I do know of situations where the calculator award was substantially sweetened in person. I know of some unbelievably sweet deals some kids have pulled out of there recently.</p>
<p>BTW, my understanding is that BU has a highly ranked and highly regarded engineering department. I am not familiar with it.</p>
<p>Oh, thank you, curmudgeon. I went to the site and my S qualifies for $9,000 worth of scholarships! I had no idea! He should apply and he can visit and compare with UT later. I think he would be happy there if he likes the engineering school.</p>
<p>Tookie, my daughter is also looking at UT and Trinity. We went to visit Trinity last weekend. They said something about "engineering science" as opposed to an actual engineering school.</p>
<p>We did get the scholarship info from the website calculator, and, yes, she is a National Merit semifinalist which is why her up front scholarship offer is so good. we are going up to Waco to visit on Nov 12th for a banquet to which we were invited. They'll even add a thousand to her scholarship and pay for our hotel room for the night just for visiting. Along with full tuition. I sure hope she makes finalist. </p>
<p>Of course we could always get there and find out that it's not the place for her...</p>
<p>Let us know how the visit goes at Baylor. Trinity tried to recruit my son for swimming but he's not interested in doing sports in college. My husband wants to go up to Baylor during Thanksgiving week but won't everyone be gone? My son doesn't like to miss school, so he has never taken a college day. How did you get Baylor to pay for your hotel room?</p>
<p>Islandmom, I may or may not have told you this before but your D really needs to look at the University of Tulsa. Stunning deals for NMs, too. It really looks great, statwise, programs ( including engineering I believe) , size, safety but D wants to try to play ball at college and D1 is genetically improbable. D's other favorites in Texas are Southwestern and Austin, both are very good schools and are becoming very quickly very selective. Southwestern also has the same kind of aid calculator.</p>
<p>Tookie, I love those calculators. What a wonderful idea rather than one from column A ,one from column B. And 9K x 4 years= a small Lexus, or a tankful of gasoline and a Big Gulp. (and yes,T'giving will be dead.)</p>
<p>I'll post about Baylor when we return. My daughter is also a swimmer and is only very mildly interested (if at all) in swimming in college. I don't think Baylor even has a swim team. </p>
<p>Maybe we'll see you at a meet this year.</p>
<p>We were offered the free hotel room as part of a program for recruiting National Merit semifinalists. Something like Programs in Excellence, or something like that. they also told her that as a semifinalist she is automatically guaranteed entrance into the honors college.</p>
<p>She is also looking at Southwestern in Georgetown. I think her stats get her about 12,500 dollars there off of the calculator (per year). She's applying just in case.</p>
<p>We did get some info from University of Tulsa. Is "curmudgeon" a new name for you??
Anyway, d says she would prefer to stay in Texas. But if she doesn't like Baylor then we just may apply to Tulsa. They've called our home a few times but we weren't home. They've left messages saying they're interested in D.</p>
<p>Oh and to clarify, my d is NOT interested in engineering. She's tired of math. Took AP Calculus BC as a junior and just wants to do something with the other part of her brain for a living.</p>
<p>Islandmom, it would have been after the "break". I'll just blame it on deja vu'. I have become such a total shill for Rhodes, Hendrix, Southwestern, and Austin (and to a lesser extent Tulsa, only lesser because I know less and D has not had a "visit"). I really need a loud suit and a megaphone and the carnival barker image will be complete. ( I was going to go "cheerleader" with that but the visual was so grotesquely frightening I refrained. LOL.). Good luck and keep posting your impressions of "the search". I'm reading over your shoulder,if you don't mind.</p>
<p>Curmudgeon...lol, no offense meant.</p>
<p>No the reason I asked about a new name was because there is someone else here in CC who keeps saying how great the Univ. of Tulsa is. However, I now realize that it was a student who kept posting about that school and since you're a Dad.... it couldn't have been you.</p>
<p>Anyway, hang in there with your search and you're welcome to tag along for the ride as we pursue ours.</p>