Baylor University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Environmental Health Science
Minors: Biology and Spanish double minor
Student Self Identifies as: Biracial: Half-Asian and Half-Hispanic Bisexual Female

Summary

I’m part of a Latina Pre-Health Student Association. I’m also part of the BIC Honors Program.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: Half-Asian and Half-Hispanic
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

High School Experience: Public school in San Diego, California with a graduating class of about 625 students. There was a culture of going to college there.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Environmental Health Science
Minors: Biology and Spanish double minor

Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of a Latina Pre-Health Student Association. I’m also part of the BIC Honors Program.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
The Latina Pre-Health Student Association has had a pretty big impact on my experience because it’s connected me with the medical and pre-health communities as well as a diverse community of Latinos.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I have two labs every week, a chemistry and an environmental science lab. For my honors program, I do have to do weekly essays depending on my coursework. It’s a good mix of the two fields.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I think my department does a really good job of connecting their students and the people who have the major with internships and different job opportunities because they’re always sending out newsletters and telling us when to apply for things, as well as their deadlines.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think Baylor, in general, has a very competitive environment because it’s trying to be a research-driven school right now, so a lot of the people they’re accepting are competitive science majors and prospective medical students. People are very focused on doing well for themselves. To some extent, people are trying to get a better grade than you, but, overall, not much so. I tend to study by myself if it’s for a science class, but just because that’s how I focus better. If it’s for a quiz or something smaller, I can be very collaborative and will study with others
How accessible are your professors?
Baylor does a great job of having accessible professors. They have regular office hours and the class sizes are great. The professors are so open and I feel like I can talk to them about anything, not just school-related stuff.
What was your favorite class in your major?
I’m in Environmental Society and it discusses issues with the environment and how it relates to topical issues in our world today. I really enjoy learning about the interconnectedness of them.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’ve always been interested in the medical field. I initially went in as a Biology major on the pre-med track, but I hated biology so I was at a loss for what I wanted to do. I started doing more research into majors and environmental science sounded really interesting, but I still wanted to work in the medical field. I saw environmental health, which is how the environment interacts with people and our society. I’m pretty happy with it now that I chose it.

Reasons to Attend

1) If you want a close-knit community.
2) If you want to academically succeed by being close to your professors and having those smaller class sizes. [The average undergraduate class size is 26.]
3) The faculty really cares about the students and the people here are so friendly.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) It’s intense and there are very conservative Christian beliefs that are going to be forced on you.
2) Waco is just ugly.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Memorial Hall with one roommate and two suitemates.
Sophomore: Memorial Hall with one roommate.
How happy have you been with your housing situation?
Because of the people, I’ve really loved it.
How was transitioning from San Diego to Waco, TX?
Honestly, it was a hard transition. I’m so far from home and I’m pretty close to my family, so that was much harder than I expected. I guess I’m not as independent as I thought it was, and I miss home a lot. There is a huge culture shock. On the West coast, everyone is so liberal and Democratic. Here, you have a larger population of conservatives and Republicans which was shocking because I wasn’t used to that. I think Baylor tends to be very conservative.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Within the Baylor bubble, it’s really safe. I haven’t felt much danger really. Outside of the bubble, Waco isn’t necessarily the safest city according to statistics and crime. I haven’t really been outside that much. [See Baylor’s annual crime report here. See CNN.com article, “Baylor Sex Assault Cases Timeline,” and Houston Chronicle article, “Baylor sexual assault case is three years in the making.” See the school’s latest news and updates regarding the sexual assault scandal.]

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I study a lot on the weekends and I’ve never been a sports person so I don’t really go to the football games. I’ll just hang out with my friends. My friends and I go to parties sometimes. We watch Netflix, and we’ll leave Waco. We’ve been to Dallas and Austin a few times. If we go to a party it’ll be a house party or a fraternity party.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Greek life has a huge impact on the nightlife because they’re the ones throwing the parties and hosting events. [About 20% of undergraduates are involved in Greek life.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
I’ve been to a couple of theater plays, but that’s really it.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Baylor? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m pretty happy with it.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I met a lot of my friends because I live with them. My community in college has been amazing because people are so open.
How was the experience in the honors college different from the regular college?
The dorm building is definitely a lot quieter, and there are 24-hour quiet courtesy hours. People are always studying and they always encourage you to study and work harder than the average college student. I’ve liked that and it’s forced me to study more.
How was transitioning socially as an out of state student?
Being in the honors college, we get a lot of scholarships so a lot of people are from out of state, which has made the transition a lot easier because there are people I can relate to.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Baylor?
Baylor is very Greek life focused. It’s about [20% of the student population], and the other portion are mostly pre-med or science students who are studying a lot. You have a diverse mix of people who are going out and people who spend all day in the library. I don’t know if there’s a middle ground population, there’s a very stark difference.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think socially there’s a pretty diverse mix of people who’re interesting. When it comes to sexual orientation or gender identities, Baylor has a stance on their Christian view on homosexuality. Groups that tend to be surprised, there was a club that’s tried to get chartered by the university for [8] years now, and Baylor has refused to acknowledge them. [The undergraduate population is about 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, 63% White, and 7% Asian.]
How would you describe the East Asian or Hispanic community? How strong is it?
I think both of those communities are strong. There are a lot of Latin and East-Asian clubs and organizations. Those cultures have big presences on campus. They even have sororities and fraternities.
What is the impact of the school’s Christian affiliation on campus?
We didn’t have a big Christian population in high school but at Baylor, it’s almost like Christianity is being shoved at you from every angle. Even in your science classes, you’re hearing about how Christians view things. Also, in your humanities courses, you read the Bible, and they make you go to chapel. I’m a Christian so I do like it for myself, but I know there are a lot of people at Baylor that aren’t Christian and I think Baylor fails to acknowledge those groups of people.
How do you like the size of Baylor in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 14,000] students?
I like it because Baylor is a mid-sized school so it’s big enough where I don’t have to see the same people every day, but it’s small enough where I get to know a lot of people and see someone I know walking around every day.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I think they mix pretty often. Baylor doesn’t have fraternity and sorority houses, they just have chapter rooms.

Careers

Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’m pretty proficient in Excel through Chemistry classes.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
I think it’s pretty easy to talk to them. They reply to emails fast, and communication is easily facilitated through the recipient and the office.