U.S. News, Wall Street Journal again rank Baylor among nation’s best student experiences

If you ask a BU student or alum what Baylor means to them, you’re likely to hear stories about brilliant, caring professors, classes that stimulated their imagination and helped carve their future paths, and organizations or activities that introduced them to friends who lasted a lifetime.

While our top-tier academic rankings are a point of pride, it’s the experience that students and alums carry with them that truly distinguishes a Baylor education — and two leading publications continue to say Baylor provides some of the best college experiences anywhere.

Let’s start with the Wall Street Journal, which ranked Baylor No. 4 nationally in student engagement — up one spot from last year, and tops in both Texas and the Big 12. The ranking is derived from how students’ evaluations of how well their university inspires and challenges them.

Then there’s U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Baylor No. 15 nationally for the first-year student experience. That ranking looked at how well schools welcome new students, with a particular eye on first-year seminars and other programs that bring small groups of new students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. Here, Baylor moved up four spots from last year.

[LISTEN: Baylor Connections interviews Dr. Sinda Vanderpool, Baylor’s chief student success officer, on Baylor’s student engagement approach]

Baylor’s success in engaging students stems from dedicated faculty and staff across campus who are committed to getting to know students and their individual needs, providing help when they face challenges, and offering resources to help them excel. Students who are intentionally engaged within the Baylor community from their earliest days on campus experience higher degrees of satisfaction in their education and are more likely to graduate than non-engaged peers.

That commitment stems from the combination of Baylor’s Christian faith and rigorous curriculum (which recently received an “A” grade from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni). Such rankings and honors illustrate that people around the nation are seeing what Bears already know — that Baylor is the whole package, and unique in higher education.

Sic ’em, Bears!