Dallas Baptist University

Dallas Baptist University offers very accessible admissions, accepting the clear majority of its applicant pool. For the fall 2025 entering class, the overall acceptance rate reached 88.8%, placing it higher than 78% of peer schools in a group of 30 private national universities with similar rankings. Despite the high rate of offers, admitted applicants show modest inclination to enroll. The university recorded a yield rate of 11.2% in 2025, which was higher than 30% of peer schools, showing that most admitted students choose other options. In institutional standing, the school occupied rank 382 in the 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, reflecting a long-term downward trajectory from rank 221 in 2019. For prospective candidates, these indicators show that qualifying for admission is manageable, but the institution faces strong competition from other colleges when admitted applicants finalize their college decisions.

Applicants evaluating Dallas Baptist University encounter standardized testing profiles that place the student body close to peer averages. In 2025, the university recorded a median SAT score of 1105, which is higher than 58 percent of peer schools in its comparison group of similarly ranked private national universities. For students submitting ACT results, the middle half of test takers scored between 20 and 26 on the composite exam. Both SAT and ACT score distributions reflect accessible academic thresholds for applicants whose high school preparation falls within typical mid-range benchmarks. Testing submission has declined over time, with less than a third of incoming students submitting SAT results and an even smaller share providing ACT scores. Prospective families can view these percentiles as practical guidelines: achieving scores near or above the mid-twenties on the ACT or around the university's SAT median provides a solid foundation for admission.

Degree programs at Dallas Baptist University show moderate concentration in practical disciplines. In 2025, the top three bachelor's majors accounted for 33.7% of all undergraduate degrees awarded. Psychology led all undergraduate disciplines with 85 graduates, followed by business administration and marketing. The largest majors do not hold high positions on national tables; undergraduate psychology ranked 529 on the 2027 U.S. News ranking list, while graduate education ranked 216 in 2026. International students make up only 4.5% of bachelor's degree recipients, though they represent a far larger portion of master's graduates. In terms of compensation, 2023 data show that bachelor's degree earners in finance achieved the highest early returns, with median first-year earnings of $65,255. For prospective students, degree programs emphasize career-oriented fields such as business, teaching, and applied social sciences rather than elite academic specializations.

Dallas Baptist University enrolled a mid-sized student body in 2025, with undergraduate students forming the majority alongside a sizeable graduate division. Across all academic levels, female students outnumber male students. Domestic racial diversity is centered primarily on White and Hispanic students, while Asian representation remains modest throughout the institution. In the entering freshman cohort, Asian students numbered 24, making up 3.9% of the class. International representation varies sharply between degree levels and is largely absent from the core undergraduate population. Instead, global enrollment is concentrated almost entirely in graduate programs, where international students numbered 366, representing 27.3% of all graduate students. For prospective applicants, these figures point to an undergraduate community composed predominantly of domestic students, while graduate classrooms offer significantly higher international exposure.

The student population at Dallas Baptist University exhibits a clear generational divide between undergraduate and graduate programs. In 2025, the undergraduate body was heavily concentrated in traditional college ages: students aged 18 to 19 comprised 32.5% of enrollment, while those aged 20 to 21 accounted for 32.1%. This concentration means undergraduate campus life, housing, and social activities are oriented primarily toward young adults entering college directly from high school. In contrast, graduate programs serve a much broader age spectrum. Students aged 22 to 24 formed the largest graduate bracket at 25.2%, followed closely by students in their late twenties and working adults in their forties. Consequently, graduate students experience a more mature academic setting alongside peers balancing employment and mid-career responsibilities.

International enrollment at Dallas Baptist University has followed divergent paths across academic levels. In the undergraduate division, the international share has steadily decreased over the past decade, reaching 5.2% in 2025. Despite this downward trend, that undergraduate proportion remained higher than 67% of peer schools in the university's comparison group of private comprehensive institutions. Conversely, international graduate enrollment has expanded significantly over the same timeframe, rising to 27.3% of the graduate student body in 2025. International degree conferrals are heavily weighted toward the graduate school, where international scholars earn a large share of advanced degrees compared to a negligible slice of bachelor's diplomas. Among master's programs, international students concentrate intensely in specialized professional and quantitative tracks, representing 91.1% of all graduates in information science and studies, with similarly heavy representation in exercise physiology and interdisciplinary studies.

Prospective applicants considering Dallas Baptist University can evaluate several other four-year institutions located within the broader regional market. Just 9.7 kilometers away lies The University of Texas at Arlington, a public national university holding rank 236 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Situated 13.2 kilometers from campus is Southern Methodist University, a private national university ranked 85. Another prominent option in the metropolitan area is The University of Texas at Dallas, located 22.2 kilometers away with a national university rank of 121. Additionally, Texas Christian University sits 24.3 kilometers away and shares rank 90 among national universities. These nearby schools offer students alternate academic settings and profiles within easy traveling distance.

Campus safety reports at Dallas Baptist University are largely driven by internal university disciplinary actions rather than violent offenses. In 2025, the university registered a crime rate of 3.2 per 1,000 students, representing a slight rise from 2.4 per 1,000 students in 2016. Across the three-year tracking period from 2023 to 2025, institutional conduct violations made up the majority of logged incidents. The university recorded 58 disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations and 20 disciplinary referrals for drug violations over those years. Criminal offenses remained infrequent during the same 2023 to 2025 period, including seven sexual harassment incidents, five burglaries, four reported rapes, and two disciplinary referrals for weapons. Overall, safety reporting reflects strict institutional enforcement of student behavioral codes on campus.