The majority of the school's students hailed from Waco and McLennan County, though some traveled from areas around the state such as Houston and Georgetown. Over the years, a few out-of-state students, primarily form the South, even attended the college. It is likely the development of coeducational Waco University—which later became Baylor University—between 1859 and 1860 forced Waco Female College to compete for students.