I can tell this has been confusing for you. Keep in mind that Baylor, like other schools, is not limited to preparing you for pediatrics or any other speciality. They will expose you to a variety of specialties and you will have a chance to pick something based on your own hands-on experience. They can prepare you for academic medicine as well.
One of things I liked about Baylor was that they have an organized research track. I know you can do something similar at other schools, but I liked the fact that it was an organized program at Baylor (WashU might have a similar program, I'm not sure; I never considered WashU because it didn't fit my priorities). Baylor offers a great education and is known for a positive environment with respect to the student body working well together, etc. Since you mention money (want a free ride), keep in mind that Baylor is among the least expensive of your choices and you'll be getting everything that your more tuition-burdened collegues at other schools are getting in terms of quality education and experience.
Here is an exercise that you can try if you really want to understand your motivations and have some time to kill: make a grid with your priorities as rows (cost, USNWR rankings, curriculum, research opportunities, student happiness, etc. etc.) and each of your school choices as columns. Give each school a forced ranking from 1 to 3 or whatever in each category (no schools can have the same score -- otherwise this system won't work). You can weight each row differently (student happiness might be worth 2X, for example). Then total up the columns and the best score "wins." If you get a tie, you will need to force rank your priorities as well (in a tie the school with the best score in the most important factor wins).
As you go through this you will probably find that the school with the best score is not the one you really want to go to. Then you will realize that there is some other factor (let's say it's weather and you hate snow more than humidity). You can then add that as a row and update the scores accordingly. This little exercise will help you understand what you like or don't like about different schools, what your priorities and weighting for different factors are, and where you should go and why.
The other nice thing about this technique is that it helps expose any gaps in your assessment of a school. For example, you may not have looked into the research opportunities at a particular school very closely and find that this is a big factor for you. You can then investigate that school's research opportunities more to help you make a more informed decision. In the end it is your decision, and it is hard for me to see how you could go wrong with the quality of choices that you have. Be sure to list the "real" factors that are important to you and not just what other people think is important; live your life and not someone else's.
!). That wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't had some unpleasant experiences prior to that.
I also live in Pearland, as do many other Baylor students. PM me if you need any info/contacts/places to eat, etc. (We have kids as well)
