Baptist University of the Americas — Attraction in San Antonio

I attend this college. So I will give you an honest and real review!

The positives: The staff members are incredibly kind and helpful, especially for international students. Mary Ranjel is like an angel, along with Orlando, Ivonne, and Bailey. They are always there to assist you, and I'm genuinely grateful for their support. They make the international admissions process very easy. They explain everything clearly and guide you throughout the entire process. It's also a great place to learn English as a second language, and there's a wealth of knowledge about theology. Living on campus as a family was one of the best experiences, and it is affordable.

Cons: If you are not Christian, you will feel unseen. Friends of mine who were not Christian felt judged a lot of the time for not being part of the religion. Access to a bachelor's degree is easy, but again, you will have to take mandatory theology classes, even if your degree is not related to that, which, for a lot of us, was a loss of time. Mainly because almost all the classes are taught by pastors... So it is not an objective point of view most of the time. Some professors are impartial, whom we truly appreciate, because we feel we are learning something and not being indoctrinated by any particular religion. So, if you are not into Christianity, it will not be the best experience. Additionally, favoritism is part of the students' experience coordination. There is a group of students who are close to some churches on the school campus that are considered privileged. They are always selected for the best job positions on campus and participate in various activities. Even in a conflict, they will show their favoritism for them. I am 40 years old, so I wasn't part of it that much, but my younger classmates felt they didn't have a place in the community because of that. That's something for sure they have to improve.

My experience at BUA has been quite personal, and I made some really good friends there. I highly recommend BUA because of the supportive community and the assistance they offer. However, I would love to see BUA become more open to diversity and welcoming to different people. As we are taught to love each other, it's important to recognize the potential talent within the college, extending beyond just those students who are close to the staff. BUA has all the qualities to be an amazing college, but its focus on a narrow view of religion in education limits...

When we arrived in the USA I didn't have enough English to enroll in a regular College. In this school the grand me the chance to study English in ESL before I did an associate with them. Then we moved to a big University and I will be graduating now this Spring. My wife graduated from BUA with a bachelors in Theology and is doing a masters at another university. We cannot say enough to thank this school! It is a smaller University with capable teacher. People know your name and you will be part of a family. The housing is just wonderful! We do not have experience with the food because we used to...

This school is great school in San Antonio. I arrived in USA as refugee without any English in 2007. I was eagerness to learn English. I had a chance to start my studies at this school in 2009. I spent three semesters for ESL and I continued for BA in theology/Biblical Studies and graduated in 2015 by the grace of God. I continued for my MA program at Dallas Baptist University and graduated in 2018. Now, I am doing my Ph.D program in Biblical Studies at Louisiana Baptist University. This school is a real blessing...