University of New Mexico Admission
University of New Mexico Undergraduate Program
University of New Mexico College Application

The Facts

The University of New Mexico is a very large, public university located in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is home to over 26,500 undergraduate, graduate, and part-time professional students. The school is quite old, and was actually founded in 1889 along the old Route 66 in between the Rio Grande and Sandia Mountains, and is also near some very old and historic pueblo Indian villages. The school also houses over 7,000 students at its several branches throughout the state, making it easier for students from throughout the state to attend the university. The university is actually divided up into several smaller colleges including schools of management, architecture and planning, arts and sciences, continuing education and community services, education, engineering, fine arts, interdisciplinary programs, law, and university college. The school offers its students a huge amount of programs and majors, including 210 degree and certificate programs, 93 of them are bachelor, 37 doctoral, as well as many night class options for the part-time professional students. Some of the most popular majors with students include majors in the areas of clinical law, pharmacology, occupational therapy, engineering and mechanical engineering, as well as some popular music and dance programs.

Admission to UNM has been growing increasingly competitive over the years as attention on their specialized programs increases. Last year, more than 9,000 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 7,000 of those students were accepted; of those, about 5,000 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1100 to 1250, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 22 to 26. Additionally, over 52% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.2.

The University of New Mexico has a fairly high student to faculty ratio of 20:1, and many students complain that their classes are far too big, and that they feel incredibly anonymous in most of them. Of course, the lab-based and more advanced classes are much smaller, but they tend to be reserved for upperclassmen only. Even though the classes are quite large, there are many professors who are absolutely willing to help students out whenever they may require it, and keep long office hours specifically for this purpose.

The Social Scene

The University of New Mexico has all the qualities of a large state school when it comes to socializing; Greek Life is a big governing factor both on and off campus, and the houses are very involved in the community of Albuquerque and its surrounding suburbs. Drinking is definitely a very popular mode of social interaction, but if partying isn’t your thing, there are plenty of student-run clubs and organizations to get involved in; everything from the American Chinese Civic Exchange to the Art Historian Association. There are also many service-oriented organizations, including branches of the Peace Corps, as well as several army, navy, and marine ROTC programs.

The dating scene is quite vibrant and diverse; we hear there are many attractive Latin Americans at UNM, who tend to be quite friendly...

What’s Good

“The setting here is incredible! You’re surrounded by deserts and mountains, and there are tons of things to do in the city itself.”

“People here tend to be really laid back and friendly. There isn’t a whole lot of unhealthy competition.”

“The campus is always kept very tidy and in good condition. You don’t have to worry about anything falling apart.”

What’s Bad

“Even though the school is technically in a city, once you’ve done just a couple of things here, you’ve pretty much done it all.”

“Sometimes it feels like if you don’t belong to a fraternity or sorority, you aren’t really anybody.”

“Some of the classes are the biggest gathering of people I’ve ever seen. You could be naked and your professor wouldn’t notice.”

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