By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
A record-breaking 56,674 applications have been submitted to Baylor for the 2024-2025 academic year, the admissions office reported.
Mary Herridge, associate vice president of enrollment management, said this is an increase of about 17% from last year, as the university typically receives between 45,000 and 50,000 applications.
“Baylor has a really big application pool,” Herridge said. “For a school our size, that’s a really robust applicant pool.”
Herridge said the applicant pool is filled with academically talented students and is more diverse.
“The academic quality is extremely high this year, and it generally is very high, so we’re fortunate that we have a lot of really talented students wanting to apply to Baylor,” Herridge said. “We are seeing … an increase of applicants from Texas. … And then I would say finally our application pool is becoming more diverse. We do have a lot of students of color applying to Baylor, and that’s exciting as well.”
Ross VanDyke, associate vice president of enrollment management, said another exciting change regarding demographics is the increase in international student interest.
VanDyke said there are several reasons why there has been an increase in applications this year. He said one reason is that Baylor’s distinct size and location are appealing to a lot of prospective students.
“I think Baylor is just at a really great place in the market,” VanDyke said. “I think that we’re a special institution, that you don’t see a lot of other schools like us being a true mid-size university that has just over 20,000 total students.”
VanDyke said another reason Baylor is desirable is its academic and athletic programs.
“A lot of people consider them to be the front porch, but I think it definitely gathers the excitement,” VanDyke said. “I think it really is a unique offering in the market.”
Baylor’s emphasis on transformative education is also something that many applicants look into, VanDyke said.
“I think it’s a true transformational institution,” VanDyke said. “I think how you begin versus how you end, Baylor really challenges students to ask the question, who they are and what they want to be. I think that excites a lot of parents, and I think that excites a lot of students.”
Herridge said she expects the number of applications to continue to grow in the coming years.
“I would love for Baylor to continue to have a really strong applicant pool — top students applying from all over the U.S. and in the world who are interested in Baylor,” Herridge said. “I would love for that to continue in the years to come and for us to be able to enroll really diverse classes that are going to contribute in meaningful ways to campus.”
Although the application deadline for the 2024-2025 academic year has passed, Herridge said Baylor will continue to accept applications.
