When students here are asked if they like Baylor, a typical response is "I love Baylor, but I hate Waco." That is probably the one thing I would've liked to know before deciding to come here. Baylor, in a word, is amazing. It's the perfect size - not UT, but not Southwestern. The professors are friendly and approachable, and all are very knowledgeable about their respective fields. The campus itself, in my opinion, is probably one of the most beautiful in this part of the country. Most of the facilities are top-notch; we have an almost-new state of the art science building, a decent-sized recreation/exercise building, and brand new residence halls. Any buildings that aren't new are nostalgic and beautiful, like the Armstrong Browning Library and Old Main. Plus, we have a bear pit where our real Brown Bear mascots live. Aside from the tangible aspects of Baylor, its Baptist heritage plays a big part in student life as well. Baylor's Christian foundations are evident in many ways: we are required to take chapel for two semesters, a Christian Scriptures class, and a Christian Heritage class, not to mention the many, many service projects students put on throughout the year. The best part is that none of this is forced on any of the students. Yes, we are required to take a couple Christian classes in order to graduate, but they are taught from an educational standpoint, rather than an evangelical one. In my experience so far at Baylor, students and their beliefs have always been respected. Now, with all this good, there has to be some bad, and that brings me to the not-so-great city of Waco, Texas. Not only is it famous for housing some grade-A crazies (ahem, Branch Dividians) in the early 90s, but worse yet, THERE IS NOTHING TO DO HERE. Granted, we do have a surprisingly decent zoo, the Dr. Pepper Museum, and a large park along the Brazos River, but those are strictly daytime activities. If you are into big-city nightlife, you'll have to drive an hour and a half either north to Dallas, or south to Austin. This tends to be a given for the weekends, as you can see by the nearly empty parking lots come Friday at 3pm. And THEN, perhaps the very worst part about Waco, and the part that I wish someone had told me, is that it is not a safe city to live in. You know that park I was talking about? Ask ANYone about it, and they'll tell you "Oh yeah it's gorgeous in the daytime. But DON'T go there at night, you WILL be mugged/raped/stabbed." You'd think that such a highly-esteemed university with all kinds of funding would be in a nice little college town that caters to its every need. Sadly, no. Not even close. I hate to say anything bad about my Baylor experience, but it's important, and I'm sure parents would be thankful to know these things ahead of time. If you don't live within the "Baylor bubble" (the 5 mile radius surrounding the campus), then invest in a security system. Seriously. And even if you live close to campus, I'd do it anyway. Safety first!