I will second the beautiful girls comment. Also, just like any other campus, fun is to be had...you just gotta hang out with the right people for you. Yea, Baylor is conservative as hell, but I hung out with people who weren't religious, who loved to drink and have fun, and didn't beat me up for my beliefs. And my college experience was probably just like any other college experience with no hint of the Baptist pressuring (at least off campus). Again, just find your group. Also, Waco kind of sucks until you get used to it. I did love that unlike Houston, I could get to anywhere I wanted within 10 minutes.
i spent a decent amount of time in waco from 2000-2002 because i had a friend and girlfriend who went to baylor law. i always had a great time when i was there, but i am easily entertained. give me a couple decent bars with reasonable priced alcoholic beverages while there's a game or two playing and i'm happy. people were nice and yes, the girls are very cute (not sure about the hottest, but, much like any other college town, there were a lot of them). i have no idea about the classes though. i would if a) my sisters hadn't have ruined my chance to go to baylor straight out of high school and b) my parents had not sold the condo they owned at the centre my junior year of high school.
wow...mixed opinions here...what are the chances of coming out of undergrad with a neuroscience degre, honors program, great gpa, great MCAT...can u get into a med school out of state??
Two of my very good friends go to Baylor and they both say the same thing as many on this thread have said before me: Great education/school; Terrible people. I've visited my friends a few times on weekends and I'd say I mostly agree. Many of the students there are a stuck up and arrogant and if you're not on the same level as them either socioeconomically or ideologically, you are judged. The environment is not like UT, UH or even A&M (to an extent), where the students are generally friendly. With that said... If you really do have a full ride scholarship, it's an excellent institution and will open many doors for you. Just be sure you have a thick skin.
If you come out of school with all of that being great, then chances are you will get into any med school you'll want, no matter WHERE you went to school. Why would you want to go to med school out of state though? Between Baylor Medicine right here in Houston, and Southwestern up in Dallas, Texas has one of the best medical programs in the world, let alone the country. And if you're doing neuroscience, I'm guessing you'd either want to be a neurologist or a neuro-surgeon, and for those fields, Baylor and Southwestern both rank in the top 5 in the country. But that's getting way ahead of ourselves....you still have 4 years until that thread comes up.
(This is seclusion's girlfriend. Only posting because I went to Baylor and wanted to put in my 2 cents.) Four years ago I was in your shoes except I had no intention of doing pre-med. Baylor is one of the best places you can go if you're pre-med -- about 1/2 of my freshman bio class was though most of them were weeded out by sophomore year. So if you have a full scholarship and "academic rigor" are your main concern, I say go for it. My end decision to go to Baylor was really based on scholarship money too. I do agree that a majority of the people you meet will come from "rich" backgrounds and an even larger majority are conservative, God-fearing folk. I've never had any problems, but I also kept my beliefs to myself. (Note: You are required to take Chapel and religion classes at Baylor) If you want more of a social life and partying, go to UT. Living in Waco isn't THAT horrible, but living in Austin really can't be beat. It's only 1.5 hours away so you can always take a weekend trip to visit sixth street. Sic 'em bears....or Hook 'em horns.
My fiancée went to Baylor and she did the Pre-Med, Honors Program. She is in med school now so she says it worked out for her from that aspect. But she also said there wasn't much to do in Waco, and that if she could do it again she probably would have gone to UT. How important are social activities to you? Edit: I just read the above post and forgot to mention that she went there specifically for the Pre-Med program. Her conclusion at the end of the day was all the goor Pre-Med folks from UT still got into medical school as well.
If you really did that well in h.s., just apply to accelerated medical programs. You might have a good shot at getting in.
Dude, I don't mean to be insulting but it will definitely come across as such. But for a guy graduating #2 in his high school class, the sort of questions you ask (in this thread and others) are... for lack of a better term, lacking. I know you're only 16 but you're Salutatorian for goodness sake.
Yeah usually people with a ranking that high are smart and assertive, his posts look more like he just wants to brag.
Eh, when you're 16, you're on top of the world and just want some advice. I'd cut the guy some slack. From my POV, if you want to get into a good med school, you're better off going to a lower tier undergrad. This is, presumably, because you'll end up making better grades and being involved on campus. I have known many people that have gone to great undergrads, gotten really busy academically, and were not as competitive as a med school candidate coming out. That being said, no one takes that advice. Everyone thinks they can go to any undergrad and dominate it. If you can, more power to you. Ha, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't listen to my own advice if I was 16 all over again. If I were you though, and you didn't get into an amazing undergrad, there's a lot to be said about going somewhere, getting great grades, concentrating on your MCAT and applying to medical school.
LOL, I love how the OP states the "great MCAT score, great GPA" requirement in a very subtle confident tone as if it has already been achieved.. trust me, where you go to school shouldn't be your main concern, getting the 4.0 and 35 on your MCAT is what you should be thinking about.. and considering how it went from Ivy league valedictorian to UT and finally down to a non-Tier I school in Waco, I have trouble believing that getting the "great GPA and MCAT" will be as easy for you as you make it sound.. best of luck regardless..
I got my BS Chemistry from Baylor in '96. Academically the school is sound. The women were definitely hot, but a bit stuck up, and if you didn't have money it was a rough go as far as the dating scene. The pre-med program is top-notch, but I had never before seen so many stressed out students. Most had zero time for anything outside of the course work. You could tell who was pre-med just by looking at their haunted stares. Waco does suck, there is no way to sugar coat it, and (back then) the average age of citizens was something like upper 40's, even taking into account the college students. I'm sure things have changed in the last 13 years, with the addition of nice facilities that were just proposals when I was a student. And, as everyone knows, your mileage may vary.
