Right now, I’m deciding between attending either ASU-Barrett (Tempe) or UNM. I’m truly split on this decision.
One of the questions I have is, is Barrett really worth it? I visited back in January, and to be honest, I really wasn’t that impressed with the university; the laid-back vibe was almost too strong, and the whole campus felt impersonal. Barrett seemed really cool, but I know it’s only a small fragment of the university. Of course, ASU is higher ranked than UNM, but I want to be in an environment in which I’m happy and comfortable.
My question for current Barrett students (if there are any out there) is, are you happy with your choice to attend Barrett? Do you get a similar feeling from the overall campus, and if so, how do you deal with it?
@mamaedefamilia ASU will cost me 15k, UNM will be 10k. My parents will contribute 10k per year, and the extra 5k for ASU will be covered w/ university loans. I’m OOS for ASU, and in-state for UNM.
Albuquerque is liberal–especially the area around the university–which is what I like about it.
That’s a not unreasonable amount of loans if you are interested in having a different intellectual experience out of state. The question that you ask about life outside of the Barrett bubble is not one I can answer, so I hope that somebody else comes along who has some direct experience.
ASU has a student population of about 83,000 compared to UNM’s 25,000 so it’s a valid question.
And no, it’s just a nickname from a friend who is.
I have a daughter at ASU. We are also in-state for UNM and paid some extra for ASU because UNM would have been completely free. She wanted the OOS experience and really likes ASU. Loves Tempe, even the hot weather. Barrett is only a part of what she likes about being at ASU. Most of your classes are going to be outside of Barrett although almost all her friends are Barrett students.
One correction, ASU is 52,000 (42,000 undergrad) on the Tempe campus. The 83000 quoted above is for all 4 campuses. However, that is still almost twice the size of UNM. More important would be the class sizes in your major, particularly after you get through those freshman courses. I have seen disturbingly large class sizes in my daughter’s major (CS) even for junior and senior level classes. You can check out the class sizes by searching “UNM (or ASU) class schedule”
I would say go where you are most comfortable but would strongly recommend that, if you go to UNM, you live on campus at least the first year. UNM will not hold you back. I know of several very good students at UNM.
We visited Barrett last week. We liked everything about it except the weather. It was 94 degrees. Liked the engineering college tour and talked to the students. Looks like there are internship opportunities through the career fair they also talked about the 4+1 degrees.
Barrett is very highly regarded among recruiters and students who are passionate about everything and anything. It is the gold standard of Honors colleges at public universities. Great community of interesting people that synthesizes a Pac-12 university into community for motivated students. Recruiter interest is VERY high of Barrett students,of GPA. Next to Supply chain management in WP Carey School of Business, Barrett is a highly regarded and recruited.
