Baylor in Nation’s Top 10 as Most Trusted University, First-year Experience

The Baylor University campus is alive with students and their families this summer as the Class of 2027 takes those important next steps – with Orientation and Line Camp – toward making Baylor their home in the fall. They’re joining a thriving R1 Christian research university with top-tier academics, vibrant student life and major college athletics, but there are now two more reasons why students (and their families) feel good about their Baylor decision.

Most Trusted: Just last month – and for the second year in a row – a national survey found Baylor among the nation’s top 10 Most Trusted Universities alongside such names as Johns Hopkins, MIT, Stanford and Notre Dame. The results are part of Morning Consult’s Most Trusted Brands project, the definitive measure of consumer brand trust across industries, including higher education.

Baylor came in at No. 9 overall out of 135 universities studied, alongside a host of Ivy League schools and top-tier research institutions. The 11,000+ individuals surveyed once again gave Baylor the best marks in Texas and in the Big 12.

“Trust is hard to earn and perhaps even harder to keep,” says President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., who added that this Most Trusted recognition is a “continuing testament to our dedicated faculty and staff who live and support Baylor’s Christian mission every day.”

First-year Experience: Baylor was highlighted by U.S. News in its 2023 undergraduate rankings at No. 10 nationally for First-year Experience for building into the curriculum first-year seminars or other academic programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. These programs, research shows, are linked to student success and positive learning outcomes while fostering a successful undergraduate student experience.

It's even more exciting for the University because these accolades come from our peers— straight from other college presidents, provosts and admissions deans who named the top standout schools in this category.

In addition, most of the schools near the top of the First-year Experience ranking are much smaller than Baylor. Only three other universities in the top-10 are R1 research institutions, and only one other plays FBS football. A tight-knit community and big-time academics and athletics speaks to the unique “just right” qualities so many students find here in Waco.