Baylor University?

[easypeasy]

Anyone and/or their kid have experience at Baylor University? DS is interested, but I'm unenthused about him living in Waco for four years. Isn't it pretty much in the Middle of Nowhere, TX?

We're planning to visit sometime in the spring if it stays on the list. DS is more enthusiastic about this than I am. Since it will, of course (🙄), be his decision in the end, we're at least going to check it out once unless he hears terrible things about Waco or Baylor beforehand.

So - anyone have any knowledge of the university itself or life in Waco? Positive or negative, we're all ears here!

(He's actually got a couple of TX schools on his long list. But my experience with Texas is that it's either A) in the Middle of Nowhere or B) TRAFFFFFFICCCCCC or C) sometimes BOTH! 🤯)

Edited November 8, 2019 by easypeasy

[Jann in TX]

My brother and sister are alumni.. they LOVED Baylor.

Waco is a great 'town'-- it has TONS of things to do -- it is NOT a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Easy (with in 2 hours) to get to Dallas/Ft Worth.  Easy to get to Austin/Hillcountry-- even easy to get to East Texas (a very pretty part of the state).

What other Texas colleges is he interested in?  My youngest has made several recent college visits around the state (even though she chose Colorado State)-- my older girls are both college grads (Texas schools).

 

[Lanny]

Many years ago, the daughter of one of my friends and colleagues went to Baylor for her undergraduate years. She then became a Doctor. I think an Osteopath and not an M.D..  I think an Osteopath is a Doctor but am not positive about what they do.

[Janeway]

11 hours ago, easypeasy said:

 

(He's actually got a couple of TX schools on his long list. But my experience with Texas is that it's either A) in the Middle of Nowhere or B) TRAFFFFFFICCCCCC or C) sometimes BOTH! 🤯)

I love this assessment of Texas!!!

[h2bh]

I graduated from Baylor and recently did a campus visit with my junior.  She went in expecting for it to not be a favorite but she really enjoyed her visit and it moved up her list.  The class she sat in on was interesting and the prof was very warm and easy to talk to.   It seemed like a casual and friendly campus environment.

As for the location, Waco isn't my favorite town, but it really isn't far to go to get to lots of interesting things.  I would frequently take weekend trips to Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio and stay with friends at someone's house and fill our weekend with theater, shopping, restaurants etc.  I was even coming from DC and didn't find Waco to be too isolated.  Waco has also improved a lot since I was there.  

If your child is interested in the honors program, I highly recommend it.  It was fabulous when I was there and they have improved upon it tenfold.  I received tremendous mentoring that helped me get into all but one grad school I applied to.  Baylor felt like a small school in terms of the level of investment my professors put into me.  I didn't realize how special that was until I started grad school at a large state flagship campus and realized that the undergrads didn't know the professors at all.

[easypeasy]

Thanks, all! I guess we'll keep Baylor/Waco on the "to be visited" list then! 🙂

[Janeway]

My son has already been accepted to Baylor Honors program and is planning to accept there if we can work out the financial aid. 

[GoodGrief]

We attended a scholarship weekend there. I really liked the school and Waco. It's got a nice little shopping area, a cool park with trails, and a nice paved trail along the river. It's a big sports school, with lots of energy.

My daughter was not enthused, but she had an unfair prejudice against Texas. :-)

I have friends from college who have sent multiple kids there, full pay, because they like it so much. These kids came from the Chicago area, so they were not small town people at all.

[Bootsie]

DH went to Baylor--he had moved at least every two years growing up, so going to college was settling down for him.  He enjoyed Waco.  We both have relatives who live in Waco and really like it.  For people looking for a college town atmosphere, it can be a good choice.  

[easypeasy]

On 11/9/2019 at 5:27 PM, GoodGrief1 said:

My daughter was not enthused, but she had an unfair prejudice against Texas. 🙂

I have friends from college who have sent multiple kids there, full pay, because they like it so much. These kids came from the Chicago area, so they were not small town people at all.

 

There are plenty of reasons to have a Totally Fair prejudice against Texas!! It's too hot, it's too big, it's too much never-ending construction, it's too much never-ending traffic, it's too conservative, it's too dusty, it's too much concrete, it's too empty, it's too full, it's too... Texan. 😂 😛 My son, god bless him, is more open-minded than his Mama and is willing to consider Texas schools if the program is appealing.

I'd be tolerably okay with UT Austin, but he isn't even kind of interested. *sigh* It's going to be a fun year between the two of us!! 😂

And if he winds up in Texas, HE is making the drive to college himself. I'll fly in and help him unpack. 🤣

Edited November 12, 2019 by easypeasy

[...................]

I don't know if this helps but whole families, several generations each, had attended Baylor and were on the 5th generation of all the kids and grandkids going there - all the way from FL.  The families were wonderful, normal, educated successful people- kind, humble and enjoyable.  NO super uber religious stuff, legalism etc. Just nice people who served in church and raised their families.  They wore Baylor sweatshirts, tee shirts, hats, etc.  It was a big thing.

[easypeasy]

2 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

I don't know if this helps but whole families, several generations each, had attended Baylor and were on the 5th generation of all the kids and grandkids going there - all the way from FL.  The families were wonderful, normal, educated successful people- kind, humble and enjoyable.  NO super uber religious stuff, legalism etc. Just nice people who served in church and raised their families.  They wore Baylor sweatshirts, tee shirts, hats, etc.  It was a big thing.

Seems that Baylor has a lot of repeat customers! Can’t think of a better recommendation than that!! 

DS plans to get his doctorate, so hopefully I won’t have to worry about him getting *stuck* in TX if he does opt for Baylor... 🤔😆

34 minutes ago, seekinghim45 said:

This question makes me laugh.  Hubby and I both graduated from Baylor ( though we didn't know each other while we were both there).  Our son graduated from there a few years and got a VERY good job upon graduation.   I loved going to school there, but I do not get why a town is important.  There is SO much to do on campus.  Plus it was less than 2 hours to Austin or Dallas, so we went there occasionally.  But college is for going to school and having fun with your classmates..  I guess I don't understand why being in Fort Worth is better than Waco....  

Although we loved our experience, it is off of the list for our daughter.  For one thing it is SO expensive.  It cost 7,000 a year when I went.  40,000 when our son went and it is now 60,000.  It doesn't really have the major she interested in- musical theater.  Even though she has good grades, the academic scholarships would only cover 15,000-20,0000 which leaves 40,000 or more.  We've saved but not that much so we dropped it from the list.

I graduated from Baylor and it was great.  My niece graduated from there as well and loved it.  I came from Michigan and the only negative was that it was fairly regional at the time.  However, I never lacked for an invitation home with someone for Thanksgiving.  The cost has likely taken it off our list for my daughter as well since this year they eliminated that automatic full tuition for National Merit Finalists.  I can’t justify the cost without it.  According to the alumni magazine, they have one of the highest student debt loads of any school in Texas.  The article in the Baylor Line highlighted multiple students with over $100,000 in student loans.  The school used to be priced to help those multigenerational families of Texas Baptists send their kids.  Several years back the school made a concerted effort to change itself into a nationally ranked university.  I went on a national merit scholarship, but I also knew my parents could afford it if something happened.  That is no longer the case.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Mom2mthj
Autocorrect really doesn’t know how to read my mind and I wish it would quit trying