What is Baylor University Known For?

What’s Covered:

• Overview of Baylor University Admissions
• Unique Aspects of Baylor University
• What Are Your Chances of Acceptance at Baylor?

What is Baylor University known for? Baylor is a Christian university, a nationally ranked research institution, and the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Baylor is also known for its two mascots: two real black bears named Indy and Bell! 

Keep reading to learn about Baylor’s admissions, the unique aspects of the school, and how you can find out your chances of acceptance at the university.

Overview of Baylor University Admissions

Location: Waco, TX

Undergraduate Enrollment: 14,915

Acceptance Rate: 51%

Middle 50% SAT Score: 1160-1340

Middle 50% ACT Score: 25-31

When considering which students to admit, Baylor admissions looks mainly at a student’s academic history—but also takes into account their personal traits to determine whether they would be a good fit. Baylor admissions officers evaluate whether a student is intellectually curious, has been challenged in academics, and wants to be part of a spiritual community. 

How to Apply to Baylor University 

Students who are interested in applying to Baylor University have the following application options: 

During the 2024–2025 admissions cycle, 640 students applied Early Decision, and 491 were admitted, resulting in a 77% acceptance rate—significantly higher than the overall acceptance rate of 51%.

Application Requirements 

When you apply to Baylor, you’ll need to make sure you have completed the following requirements: 

• The Common App or Baylor Online Application
• Baylor-specific essay
• Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS)
• High school transcript  
• FAFSA and CSS profile

The following materials are optional: 

• Test scores 
• Resume (recommended)
• Two letters of recommendation (recommended)
• Short answer response (required for Early Decision and recommended but optional for other applicants.)

Each year, the Baylor-specific essay prompts change. Here’s what you need to know to write the 2025-2026 Baylor essays. 

Unique Aspects of Baylor University

Academics

Baylor University offers more than 125 majors, opening pathways to a wide range of careers. Popular fields of study include business and marketing, healthcare, biological and life sciences, communications and journalism, and the social sciences.

Notable programs at the university include the competitive Baylor Business Scholars, which allows students to pair their interest in business with a second major. Another standout option is Baylor Business Fellows, a selective program that gives students broad flexibility to explore their career interests, early access to advanced coursework, and experiential learning opportunities such as study abroad.

The nursing major at the Louise Harrington School of Nursing at Baylor is also very popular and extremely well respected. It boasts a 96% NCLEX pass rate—the standardized test that determines if nursing graduates can practice as entry-level nurses.  

Baylor students are known for their intellectual curiosity and community engagement—Baylor students, faculty, and staff volunteer more than 150,000 hours annually. 

Baylor is a leading producer of Fulbright Scholars. During the 2025–2026 academic year, 24 students and recent alumni earned Fulbright awards, making Baylor the top producer among Texas institutions of higher education and Big 12 institutions.

Extracurriculars

Baylor has over 330 student organizations, ranging from academic and special-interest groups to Greek life to athletics. Some of the most unique clubs at Baylor include the Badminton Club, the Crochet Club, and the Aikido Club. Additionally, Baylor has over 40 Greek life organizations. Since 

Sports are popular at Baylor, as it is an NCAA Division I school with 19 varsity sports. The men’s basketball team was the national champion in 2021, and the women’s basketball team took home national championships in 2005, 2012, and 2019. Students attend Baylor football games and tailgates on fall weekends or may even participate in “sailgating,” a version of tailgating on the Brazos River.

Traditions

One of the best parts of Baylor is the university’s many traditions. One of the university’s more unique traditions is Dr. Pepper Hour, a weekly tradition since 1953, where students are offered Dr. Pepper floats. 

Another unique tradition is the Ring Out and Passing of the Key ceremony, an annual event in which senior women pass an ivy chain to junior women, and men pass a key to a box of relics to the men of the junior class, symbolizing a rite of passage. 

Baylor students ring in the holidays with the annual Christmas on 5th Street, a series of festivities and events celebrating the season.   

Since Baylor is known for its athletics and passionate fans, students uphold the Baylor Line—a tradition dating back to the 1970s—in which they rush onto the field before every home football game to welcome the team, forming a massive human tunnel as the players enter the stadium. 

Dorms

The dorms at Baylor include 12 residence halls, seven living-learning centers, seven first-year communities, and three upper-division communities. The Living-Learning communities are unique to Baylor as they allow students with similar interests to live together. Baylor’s seven living-learning communities are: 

• Baylor & Beyond
• Business & Innovation
• Fine Arts
• Lead (male)
• Lead (female)
• Outdoor Adventure
• Science & Health 

First-year students are required to live on campus for two semesters. After the first year, some students choose to live off-campus. Overall, 39% of all students live in campus housing.

Location

Baylor is located in  Waco, Texas, a city of over 145,000. Many Baylor alumni live in Waco or Dallas, which is just 90 miles north. Students are not too far from Dallas and often visit the city on weekends or holidays.  

Financial Aid

Baylor offers a wide variety of merit- and need-based scholarships and provides financial aid. No additional application is required to be eligible for merit-based awards. To receive financial aid, students must complete the FAFSA and CSS profile, which opens on October 1. 

Resources

Baylor is a large research university that offers students access to distinctive academic opportunities. In 2021, it earned an R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, signaling very high research activity.

Baylor is also home to the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research (CASPER). The center features extensive experimental and computational facilities and houses the Paul and Jane Meyer Observatory, which is open to both students and the public.

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance at Baylor University?

Getting accepted to Baylor University is not a walk in the park. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a good shot!  To better understand your chances of admission to Baylor, we recommend using our free admissions calculator. Using your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars, we’ll estimate your odds of acceptance and give you tips on improving your profile.

You can also search for best-fit schools to make a strategy for your college application process.