Baylor University Top Questions

The most popular student organizations have to be Greek Life. Almost one third of all of Baylor's students are in a greek lettered organization. I am involved in a predominantly African American sorority in the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and I wouldn't trade the relationships I have formed with my sisters for anything. I can say that joining my sorority has been the most fulfilling aspect of my college career, and I would definetely encourage others to research Greek Life and join a sorority that fits them. Students are heavily involved in athletics as well, whether its intermurals or attending games. Both mens and womens basketball has been highly ranked the past few years, and students always back the bears! On a typical Saturday night there is always going to be a party somewhere but there are other activities on and off campus which don't involvue underage drinking. Common Grounds is an extremely popular coffee house which often has live bands, local Baylor talent, or outdoor movies playing. If you attend Baylor, going to Common Grounds is a must. Other unique places in Waco that Baylor students frequent is Katie's Custard, Spice Village, and the Dr. Pepper Museum

Greek Life is pretty big at Baylor, there are many frats and sororities to join if you are into that. There are also plenty of academic associations to get involved with, which is what I prefer, such as American Medical Student Association, Neuroscience Society, etc. There are also small groups for anything you can think of, such as religious small groups to gaming small groups (my roommate plays WoW and Dungeons and Dragons, he joined a small group for D and D). Playing sports is my favorite thing to do, so I love the intramurals here. There are leagues for Residence Halls as well as for Private Groups (Frats, Culture Groups, etc.) Baylor does a really good job at organizing Intramurals for just about anything possible, from Flag Football to Raquetball to Walleyball (yes, walleyball, as well was Volleyball).

Baylor is pretty big into Greek life. Even if your not in one of the typical fraternaties/sororities, you have a pretty good chance of ending up in a service fraternity or minority sorority/fraternity. It's just the way most students get involved. That said, we have a pretty big Honors College, and there are a lot of organizations for your area of study. Dorm life - for girls at least - isn't huge. Most of the time, the girls are out elsewhere being social. I honestly didn't know probably 3/4 of the girls on my floor, and if someone's door is open, it's barely cracked in case one of their friends really needs to see them. Athletic events can be pretty big, especially if we happen to be doing well at the moment. Football starts off big and then sort of flags off as we realize that this isn't our year, again. We'll have some things that come through Baylor like speakers and plays and the like, but most of the time it's not a huge deal. Probably our biggest events are the Pigskin Review and All-University Sing (a huge singing, dancing, theatrical production put on by our Greeks--it's one of the biggest deals of the year). Something worth checking out is the Guerilla Troupe comedy shows. It's an improv show and it's actually really funny. Dating is a huge deal at Baylor. When you first get there, it's like a mad dash to find the person you'll be engaged to by the spring of your Junior year (or your tuition money back!) There are a lot of great people there, though, and chanced are good that if you're female, you'll find your life partner if that's what you're looking for. Not everyone is super into dating, though. If you're awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you're probably studying for a huge test you have on Wednesday or hanging out with a significant other, though not in your dorm room since the visiting hours end at ten on weekdays. Every year, we have two pretty big events--Homecoming and Diadeloso. Homecoming include the Pigskin Review, which is the best 8 acts from Sing, the Bonfire, and the tradition of the "Eternal Flame," which actually may be discontinued due to injuries. The premise is that freshman guard a flame and the upperclassmen try to put it out. People can get pretty into it, and this year some people ended up hospitalized. The other big event is Diadeloso, which is a day off from classes in the spring a little bit before finals. Students set up booths by the Science Building or just hang out together. It's a pretty big day for partying, too. Partying at Baylor isn't too big. Unlike a lot of universities, you have the find the parties, the parties don't find you. Thursday is usually a night where students go to a club or have a small get together or just stay in. Fridays and Saturdays usually have the bigger parties, mostly thrown by fraternities, who don't have official frat houses, but use a house where some of their guys live. They can be pretty fun, and it's not a huge deal if you don't drink. There are some that do and some that don't. If you don't want to be around drinking at all, that's fine, too. There are plenty of groups that get together on weekends and have movie nights, go bowling, etc. Off campus, there are plenty of places to eat, there's a lake nearby you can visit, a zoo, a beautiful park, and attractions in Dallas and Austin. It's nice that Waco is close to those big places if you need a little more night life.

A lot of freshman try to get involved in FLO (freshman leadership organization) or FCC (freshman class councel). Both of these groups provide really cool opportunities for those that are involved. Personally I attended all the sporting events for my freshman activities. No matter how poorly the Baylor football team is doing, it is still very fun to go to tailgate and then head into the game together. I highly recommend running the Baylor Line at least once. It's just something you should do. If for nothing else, it provides wonderful seats for the game. I almost always stood on the railing and although my legs were pretty sore, it made the game that much more fun.

Greek life is real big. I think dorm life is good for freshmen because it provides a great opportunity for students to meet other students. We have a whole lot of tradition.

I'm quite active on the campus. Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, requires 35 hours of community service a semester, but offer may opportunities, on and off campus. Gamma Beta Phi, a service-based honor society, require 8 hours a semester, which is practically nothing. Magellan Society, a multicultural service organization, doesn't require any set number of hours, but has many social and service activities that focus on the world as a whole. The Canterbury House, the right-off campus Episcopal Student Center, has Eucharist every Wednesday, and bible study on Sundays. Off campus, my friends and I find ourselves at different restaurants or the Suspension Bridge, where we hang around and throw tortillas on to one of the old columns. We may also make a day at Lake Waco or Lake Victoria, or take road trips to Austin or Dallas.

Parties are fun, but there is a lot of drinking. There's nothing else to do in this hell-hole of a town but drink away your sorrows about your chem test that you made a 22 on because the class average was a 25.

Off campus: eat. Plenty of restaurants, and even the occasional movie. On campus: I'm involved in Alpha Delta Pi, so there's always mixers, crushes, dances, etc. with that. We also do community service together and a lot of sisterhood-bonding activities, which are a ton of fun! But the greek scene on whole isn't a huge deal on campus. Since we're not allowed houses and all of the sororities share one building, I feel like it's a lot more civil and less competetive. Also, less than half of the student body rushes. It's not a huge deal to most people whether or not you're greek, although to some it is. It's just pretty much another club of people who have things in common, enjoy each others' company and plan social events. I know of plenty of people that live in houses of 4 girls, each from a different sorority. Or another in particular, two from one, one from another, and one independent (non-greek) . A person's greek house isn't their defining factor. Baylor: SO many traditions! Dr. Pepper hour with free floats every week, SING, Steppin' Out, Homecoming, Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas on 5th Street, other campus-wide Greek events, the Guarding of the Flame... the list goes on and on! It's awesome. It's a very old university steeped in awesome, age-old traditions.

Baylor has a less-than-stellar record in Big XII sports, football being a particularly painful example. However, football and basketball games are always popular and well-attended, even given the somewhat dismal athletic facilities. Other sports, such as tennis, golf, and track, Baylor regularly excels at. Baylor offers a failry wide range of campus-sponsored activities to keep students involved, and the Greek organizations almost always have something going on. Greek life is huge at Baylor, and participation is strongly encouraged. If you don't want to join a particular club, be sure you have friends in a few, so you can be invited to their activities. The different social groups are widely varied at Baylor. If you want to party every weekend (weekend starts on Thursday), then plenty of people will be willing to party. If you want to join a Bible study, you'll find people to study with (there will probably be some people from your weekend's festivities in the Bible study with you). Baylor's pretty varied.

Lots of Greek- but there are lots of things to do if you're not. Those in fraternities and sororities tend to be the ones that like to party. They also have "crushes" all the time- casual take-a-date fraternity or sorority events during the week. Everyone goes to the football games. Basketball is great too. Most people meet their best friends in the dorm. As a freshman you are required to have a mealplan, so people hang out in the dining halls a lot. Off campus- great zoo, Cameron Park rocks, there are some cool restaurants, and the movies are cheap!