They also have Regents’ Scholars, which is a full ride with extra perks.
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Great - thanks. Here’s a description - it’s interview based like many schools seem to have (what mine did).
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The web site says that Regents requires a scholarship application (due Dec 1). Students apply here (requires a login, probably the same as their applicant portal): Scholarship Details
And here is the brief description:
The Regents Scholars Scholarship Program provides funding to cover average tuition and fees, room and board, and books to high-achieving freshman students who meet specific criteria. The award is renewable for four years if the student meets renewal criteria each year.
Regents Scholars will be involved in innovative and exciting programs and opportunities. To enhance the students’ academic experiences, each scholar will be assigned one of UNM’s outstanding faculty, who will serve as a mentor.
Regents Scholars will be admitted to the University of New Mexico Honors College and will receive specialized advisement and course registration privileges. They will also represent the University at various community and University functions.
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UNM’s main campus has ~24k students.
The peers in most of your kid’s classes, especially once she gets past gen-eds, will be “collectively at her level”, in whatever way you meant that.
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Agree.
And the students studying literature, linguistics, etc. are a different slice of the student body than the students studying early childhood education or criminology. Not better, not worse, but different- and typically, their stats are significantly higher. “undermatching” at a large flagship U is very different than undermatching at a 1200 person campus….
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We attended the Honors College presentation at UMass Amherst as part of our tour and were very impressed. Brand new HC dorms, smaller classes, thesis project, etc. UMass also has the No. 1 campus food in the nation (it’s true 
), is next to a beautiful historic town, and has access to great outdoor activities.
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Yes and no.
It is true that UNM doesn’t have the student heft, at least statistically, of other flagships that are better none - but those are also not $20K or free, etc.
It doesn’t mean the student can’t thrive there - for example, as one of the 50 Regents Scholars if the win (it’s an interview day thing).
Or they can thrive by meeting like minded kids which will be there.
But in overall heft academically, the overall student body won’t be as strong - but they hit on cost and outdoorsy - and a U Wisc or a UMD don’t do that so….. there’s always tradeoffs - often starting with budget.
As strong as who? You can’t compare a state school with 25k students to Williams or Fordham. They are designed to attract different students.
I will say that in some states, the state schools are where the instate students go to college. They’ve grown up with the sports teams being THEIR teams because they don’t have as many, or even any, pro teams. Their friends go there, their teachers graduated from these schools (so talk about them), their parents may have gone there. The schools serve the state students and admission might be open to almost every student in the state, even those with lower test scores. It is more like a high school where the hs admits everyone, but it is unlikely the student who will get a 1500 on the SAT is going to be in the same AP history class as someone who will get a 980 on it. Can they be in the same gym class or art class? Sure, and the student with the lower score can be the student who excels in one area or be the one who guides the 1500 SAT peer through a class on water rights because the lower scoring student student grew up on a farm and had to learn the economics of water rights.
Big flagships with all levels of students seem to be less common in New England than in other parts of the country, maybe because there are so many colleges to pick from. In many western states, there is the one big flagship, a few other state schools and that’s where the kids go. It doesn’t make the peer group less stimulating.
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As other flagships statistically - I noted this - as say a UF or UMD or UF.
I’m just talking statistically. Not saying OP wouldn’t succeed there.
The most important number to check when looking at a school’s average test scores is “percent submitting test scores”. In the case of the University of New Mexico in this year’s freshman class,
48% submitted SAT scores
8% submitted ACT scores.
So, at least 44% submitted no standardized test scores of any kind. This mean that the averages are not reflective of the entire student body - far from it. Normally we would assume that those not submitting - as a group- had lower test scores than those who did submit. Grades for this year’s freshman class would seem to be a better indicator because that average includes all students. The average gpa was 3.38 with 21% of the freshman class having a gpa below 3.0 and 14% having a gpa of 4.0. This seems to indicate that there is a wide range in the levels of prior accomplishment by this group.
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24 K in a state with a population of only 2.1 million - comparable in size to West Virginia, Idaho, or Nebraska.
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I think her list is a good one. It has a range of school types which I think makes sense given that she is open to a variety of different experiences.
I really like UNM as a safety. It was the safety of 2 friends of my D25, and both of them ended up choosing to go there. They hoped to go out of state, and UNM ended up being half the cost of any of their other OOS options (and cheaper than our own state flagship!) One is an engineering major, the other English I think. Both are very solid students with good high school rigor. Both are loving the experience, love how different the culture and landscape are from home (our Northern state is a lot like yours.) UNM, like many flagships in small population states, has a mission of educating the whole range of students. It’s not like in California where there are “tiers.” So your student will find peers. Don’t be put off by the ACT. UNM also belongs to National Student Exchange which would allow her to do up to a year of exchange at some really interesting schools. How about a semester or two at CC favorite St. Olaf (private LAC in MN?) or A semester or 2 in Hawaii, or at University of Alabama to observe sorority culture with an anthropological eye? Students pay not more in tuition than they do at their home institution and credits transfer seamlessly. National Student Exchange - Campuses / Location
Stoneybrook and UMASS-Amherst also belong to NSE
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Thank you for sharing! Looks like an interesting and varied list. Please give us an update with her decision when it’s time. Good luck to her!
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I also have an “unhooked” son who just started his second year at UChicago. He loves it. Our son did not do the pre-college summer programs offered at UChicago but did visit during an “open house” day and also did a campus tour and info session. UChicago offers an informative campus info session/tour and they’re fairly clear about the types of students who tend to thrive at the school.
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