Baylor: The Big Picture
Baylor is apparently the oldest University in the state of Texas, and there's a great deal of pride and tradition that comes from that--but they continue to strive to be one of the top learning institutions while maintaining a Christian mindset. That may not be for some people--if it were a huge issue, they wouldn't apply to go to Baylor. Still, Baylor isn't completely filled with the "typical Christian"--and if you go to Baylor and take your school seriously, you'll get a great education regardless. If you're looking for a party school where you can get a degree and blow off your education, Baylor would probably be a stupid choice... seeing as it costs so much.
Baylor Academic Life
Academics at Baylor are really great, and--at least in this area of the country--Baylor is a really well-respected academic institution. When you tell people you're going to Baylor, they're generally impressed. For the most part, classes are very small, so it's easy to get to know your professors if you want to. Pretty much all of my professors know my name. Generally, the general education classes that are required for everybody tend to suck, but if you're smart you can get most of them out of the way in community college. I'm a music major, and Baylor has absolutely got one of the top programs in the state, if not the nation. My professors all challenge me to be the best musician I can be, and the curriculum really is designed to give you the most out of your degree. The students are competitive, but the environment is also very encouraging if you make the right kinds of friends. In the end, you get out what you put in--and Baylor will return exponentially if you really work hard.
Baylor's Student Body
Baylor, on the whole, is very conservative. It's the party line, and the majority of students follow it. The school of music, however, is very different--I'm personally a democrat, and I don't feel oppressed or anything like that. I have several gay friends in the school, and they don't seem to have much of a problem. As far as the financial background is concerned, students pretty much fall into two categories: students whose parents are loaded and it doesn't matter at all how much school costs, and students who are desperately trying to get as many scholarships and loans as possible... because Baylor is really expensive.
Baylor Student Activities + Social Life
Baylor has a lot of student organizations and clubs that you can belong to if you want--pretty much anything legal that you're interested in doing, you can do through some club at school. If you want to do anything that isn't exactly legal... you can probably do that too--but it's obviously a little more hush-hush. Athletic events are huge at Baylor: despite the fact that our football team currently sucks, people still attend the games pretty much religiously. This is pretty much the same for all the major sports at Baylor. As a freshman, you have to live in the dorms, so you either learn to embrace it or live for the day when you can get your own apartment.
