Baylor University

Date: Apr 01 2006
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
On the one hand, I'm an out, butch, lesbian agnostic, attending a Baptist university. So you'd expect it to have a few weird moments. Overall, though, my Baylor experience has been a positive one—it is a pronouncedly Christian school, which has implications for official school policy (no unmarried/gay sex; no drinking on campus; everyone's required to attend chapel and take a couple of courses on Christianity). At the same time, my experience has led me to conclude that more or less anyone can find a place here—do note, though, that I'm also white. Some of my friends who aren't, particularly people who look/are middle-eastern, have had many more negative experiences.

There are a lot of rich kids. I mean, a LOT. Hummers and BMWs are not at all uncommon sights on the residence hall parking lots. And if you're short on money, even if you can snag a Regent's scholarship as I did, I don't recommend coming. Cost of living is disproportionately high here (…because of all the rich kids), and jobs that pay decently are really tough to find.

That said, the rich kids (and alumni) have funded a really beautiful campus. The facilities and landscaping, excluding the dorms (which they're tearing down and rebuilding as we speak) compare favorably to any university I've been at, and blow most public schools out of the water.

The vast majority of professors are intelligent, well-qualified, and far more open-minded than the general population. I've had good experiences with all of the profs in the art department, and all but one in Spanish, my other major. And the one guy insisted on opening every class with a lengthy prayer, and rather than analyzing literature, read aloud from the textbook and gave critiques of the characters' behavior based on a (very) conservative Christian moral standard.

So that class was worthless. And required for graduation. But the others have been much better. By and large, professors here are very concerned with student well-being, both in and out of the classroom. I've had several who went as far as having students over to feed them, screen movies, etc.

Also one who is still angry at me for not telling him I couldn't afford to apply to grad school, so that he could pay for the applications for me. The professors here are really, really decent people.

The student body is varied. Mostly rich, white, conservative, Baptist, heterosexual, but by no means all—Baylor has a large liberal subculture, if you're willing to go and look for it. There's an Atheist and Agnostic Society, and an ever-changing undercover gay rights movement, and the Center for Jewish Studies (official! university-funded! great place to meet non-baylor-typical types!) And if you do happen to belong in that first category—which is cool; to each her own—you'll probably fit right in.

Most of the more "personal choice" oriented rules aren't enforced all that strictly, especially for students living off-campus. As I said, I've been very open about my sexual orientation, having a girlfriend, etc.—and even came out to a large group of students at a diversity event this year—and have had no official negative repercussions. And, ok, it's Waco, Texas, so you get lots of dirty looks—but after a solid two years of my boy's haircut, rampant transvestism, pride t-shirts, and hanging around with a group of lesbians that looks just like me, the worst that ever happened was a couple of sorority girls leaning out of a passing car and yelling, "Are you guys lesbians?" Oh, and once somebody called a couple of us fags, which made us all laugh really hard, and probably confused the guy.

The only person I've known who was disciplined for drinking was underage by a few years, and drank herself almost to death, then came to MY apartment to collapse into a coma. Had her stomach pumped twice. So you really have to be pretty stupid about it to get into trouble.

Word to the wise—this is applicable for undergraduates. I don't know about grad students, and being gay or breaking ANY OTHER RULE is a definite no-no for anybody at Truett Seminary or on faculty.

Waco sucks. A lot. There's almost nothing to do that isn't university-sponsored—certainly nothing free—the shopping is lousy, and the restaurants are boring. And also mostly bad. There's a gay bar, but it's 21-and-up, and kind of depressing. Nowhere fun to drink and/or dance. If you visit Baylor, visit the rest of the city, too, because it's a good idea to know what you're getting into. And not to beat a dead horse—but this, too, depends partially on how much money you have. If you can be assured of always having a functional car and plenty of gas money, there's always Austin or Dallas, and you'll at least be able to see mainstream, Hollywood movies in town, drive to Target and HEB, etc.. If not, this is a terrible city to walk in, and good luck getting anywhere else.