We developed a list of schools where we thought S might get enough merit aid to make attendance financially feasible. S was allowed to add any school he wanted as long as he knew there might be a financial veto if the aid didn’t work out.
If I recall correctly, the list looked about like this:
UT Dallas (NMF full ride)
OU (NMF near full ride - since reduced)
Texas Tech (NMF full ride)
U of New Mexico (NMF full ride)
Bama (NMF Full ride)
Michigan State
UA Birmingham (NMF full ride)
Tulane
UC Riverside
We visited the four westernmost (OU, UNM, TT, UTD) over spring break during S’s junior year.
UTD turned him off. OU was OK (I loved it; he was just meh), and he was wowed by TT and UNM. Both had good pre-med programs, good medical schools, and good drama departments. He liked UNM and TT so much that he opted not to tour the others, not even UCR about an hour away.
Tech was in first place for awhile, mostly on the strength of its Honors College. S realized he hadn’t visited the HC at UNM, so we scheduled a re-visit.
In the end, S felt more at home at UNM. He liked the climate and landscape, he liked the majority-Hispanic student body, he liked the friendly, laid-back vibe, and he liked ABQ better than he liked Lubbock. At UNM, S felt like students wanted to be there. At Tech, he kept hearing how someone was going to Tech because they hadn’t gotten in somewhere else. Even though it’s 700 miles away, UNM is also a lot closer to home than TT.
I think both would have been great options for him, but we’re very happy with his choice.