ardency

I haven't posted here much. Let me introduce myself. Hi, my username is ardency, my real first name is Nathaniel, and I'm a first-generation college student who survived the college admissions process, with Baylor as a top-choice along with Duke and Stanford. I applied to Baylor EA and was admitted, which knocked out my in-state safeties, and then I enrolled at Baylor after getting denied by both reach schools. I tried, at least, but seeing as Baylor was the only school I got admitted into, I figured that my sense of 'the best fit' school was correct. However, after reading some reviews, posts, and general statements about Baylor as a whole, I'm curious to hear a frank, no-bull, unabated view of the school. I'm not visiting the school until orientation, but I think it would be beneficial if I had a 'heads up' to see what I'm getting myself into.

Please, do not throw general or unsupported statements about how Waco sucks, or that everyone's conservative. I do realize that some schools have different personalities and that Baylor's is a bit to the right.

Of course, please don't flame me for applying to three schools or getting denied. I had back up plans, I promise. : ]

So with that being said... 'sic em.'

Thanks.

jollybean

My daughter and I attended orientation last week and were very impressed. We were impressed with both the folks who work at Baylor (who were extremely organized and made us feel very welcome) and with the other incoming freshmen. Looks like there will be a smart freshman class, a class of high achievers and motivated students!

The faculty member assigned to be my daughter's advisor did a great job of getting her enrolled in decent classes. She answered lots of questions and was very helpful.

Waco actually has several sides to it. There are nice restaurants and shopping places and the town seems to be growing. My daughter thinks it will be fine. She realizes that Austin is 1.5 hours south and Dallas is less than 2 hours north. Not a big deal to her.

I wish you well at Baylor, Nathaniel! Obviously, we think it is the best decision that our daughter could've made and she is very excited to be a Bear. Hope it works out for you, too!

ardency

Thank you for the message, jollybean!

I did go to orientation last week and I was blown away. I enjoyed myself there and they do make a great effort to make you feel welcome at the school. What surprised me was the diversity of the incoming class. I saw a lot of minority students like myself and I never felt "out of place" the entire time. As for Waco, it isn't entirely too shabby. There were a few parts of town I wasn't so sure of, but overall, it's not terrible.

I'm very excited about being a Baylor Bear, and I'm actually glad that I got denied by my reach schools.