By Emma King, Staff Writer
Truett Seminary will welcome prospective students to campus for their Fall Preview on Thursday and Friday.
“We’re always excited to have people in our building and learning about Truett,” said Kristen Boyd, Truett’s coordinator of student recruitment.
Boyd said they start planning their preview events as soon as the preview from the previous semester is over.
“We’re gearing up for a very big fall preview,” said Carley Collier, administrative associate for Truett admissions.
Thursday night will consist of a welcome worship service and a dinner, so visitors can be introduced to what Truett is about.
Friday will be a full day of tours and sessions with academic advising and scholarship information. Visitors will be able to talk to professors and current seminary students about the Truett experience.
“I enjoy the connections being made and seeing people come alive to theological education,” Boyd said.
She said checking out the campus in person and talking to those professors helps students envision themselves there.
“I look forward to the lightbulbs going off,” Boyd said.
If students are unable to attend the preview, Boyd said they can schedule personal campus visits.
To attend the preview, students should register online as soon as possible, to ensure there will be enough food during the provided meals. Registration information and a more detailed schedule can be found on Truett’s website, https://www.baylor.edu/truett/index.php.
As of Monday afternoon, 53 prospective students and 21 guests have already registered. Boyd said this is a very thrilling number.
She said some of the top reasons students give for choosing Truett is because of the spiritual formation offered in conjunction with a high academic quality.
She also said that Truett has faculty who care. They who teach seminar style classes, with a 18 to one student to faculty ratio.
“It’s a good size, where you can get to know your professors and your classmates,” Boyd said.
Collier said the community at Truett is welcoming and tight knit.
“If you come to Truett, you’re a part of our family,” Collier said.
She also said that being a part of the larger Baylor community provides Truett students with benefits they wouldn’t have at standalone seminaries. At Truett, they have access to all the same things that Baylor students do. Even students who get their undergraduate degrees at other universities become a part of the bear family when they come to Truett.
“People adopt is as their own,” Collier said. “They’re Baylor all the way!”
Currently, the Truett family consists of about 360 students, according to Baylor’s Institutional Research and Testing data. Collier said they are growing though. Currently, 34.3 percent of Truett’s population is female.
Collier said another one of Truett’s selling points is that they promote female preachers, offering them the same preaching classes they offer male students. This makes Truett a little more on the progressive side, for a Baptist seminary, Collier said.
Though it is a Baptist seminary, Boyd said they offer substantial scholarships to both Baptist and non-Baptist students alike.
They also offer accommodations for students who are just visiting for the Fall Preview. Boyd said they provide the hotel rooms and transportation for travelers coming to check out Truett this week.
“We try to make it as convenient as possible,” Boyd said. “Basically, if students can get to Waco, we’ll do the rest.”
Boyd said she loves encouraging students and seeing the humility in students who want to attend seminary.
“We take care of our people,” Collier said.
