Facts that you might not know about Baylor students

What’s All the Buzz About?

Events and programs that shine a light on our diverse community are not new at Baylor. But an entire week-long, deep dive into many of the enriching facets of the Baylor community? That is new!! Gear up for an exciting week-long initiative entitled Know Your Neighbor Week Saturday, November 5 to Thursday, November 10. Be ready to get curious about your neighbors, where they come from, what their Baylor experience is like, how you might be a good neighbor, and how they enrich our lives and the Baylor community.    

Did you know?

Consider these facts about our community this fall:

• 17% of our undergraduate students are the first in their family to be earning a Bachelor’s degree. That’s a tremendous accomplishment! We celebrate them at Baylor as First In Line students.
• With a Pre-Law cohort of over 1,300 students, 89% of seniors who apply to law school are admitted to 1 or more law schools.
• Over 2,750 undergraduates are considered low income, coming from families whose Estimated Family Contribution is less than $12,500.
• Food Insecurity exists on our campus. In September, 871 visits were made to The Store, Baylor’s on-campus food pantry located in Sid Richardson.
• When asked, “Since the beginning of classes, I have eaten less than I felt I should have because I did not have enough money,” 672 of our new students answered “yes.”
• Each year 25 McNair Scholars, comprised of high achieving undergraduate, first generation and/or underrepresented students interested in going to graduate school. Each scholar is involved in funded Faculty mentored research, conference presentations, and professional development workshops, resulting in a large majority being admitted directly into graduate programs across the country, including fully funded PhD programs.
• Many moderate and low-income students struggle to afford class textbooks which cost on average $340.00 per semester. Faculty members have been invited to consider transitioning their course materials to Open Educational Resources to help mitigate these costs.
• 17% of students and 5% of faculty identify as Hispanic. When Baylor student enrollment hits 25% Hispanic, Baylor will be considered a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).
• The Asian American & Hispanic student population has been increasing in recent years while there has been an overall decline with our African American student population.
• Over 1,500 students at Baylor are actively registered and receive accommodations through OALA (the Office of Access & Learning Accommodation).
• Baylor boasts over 1,000 military connected students. These include veterans, active duty, those serving in the reserves or National Guard, dependents of a military service person, or spouse of a military service person.
• Baylor has 860 international students representing 87 countries!  Many international students made it back to campus this fall after being in their home countries for a semester or two!

When we shine a light on the experience of lower income students among us, the most frequent response we hear is, “How can I help?”

If that applies to you, we invite you to step up and:

• Give directly to The Food Security Endowment created by the Faculty Senate and Staff Council to ensure we can minimize food insecurity for future students at Baylor;
• Give to The Store Excellence account to help meet the needs of current students. 

Questions or suggestions about Know Your Neighbor Week?
 Whitney_Jones@baylor.edu
Steven_Fernandez@baylor.edu