Too good to be true?

<p>Is this an under the radar STEM school or what? I went on a couple of other websites, and there aren't any really horrifying negative comments, depending on your point of view of course. For instance it seems to be in a rural high desert town, not much Greek Life, not a huge party scene etc. In comparison to other student reviewed colleges, even the sour grapes reviews are fairly well written which speaks to the strength of the humanities offerings (or the students are already decent writers when they come in). My D is very interested in this school for Computer Science or Engineering but coming from Upstate NY it will be a very big change and we just need as much information as possible. Anyone?</p>

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>Long-time NM resident and pretty familiar with Tech. While neither of my children attended Tech, my older D had a number of friends who did so I can probably answer most of your questions.</p>

<p>Tech is a hidden gem. It’s biggest problem is that’s it’s in NM and many parts of the country still aren’t sure we’re actually part of the USA.</p>

<p>Tech is a small college in a small town that is about 75 minutes south of ABQ (nearest major population center and nearest major ariport). I’ve been to Soccoro many, many times and can tell you what you want to know about the town.</p>

<p>NM and Tech are pretty laid back places. The biggest “vices” at Tech seems to be computer gaming and golf. Tech shares facilities with National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the VLA is about 45 minutes west of town. There’s also world class rock climbing within a half hour of town. (D1 is competitive climber and she runs down to Soccoro every chance she gets to climb.) Other nearby attractions include Bosque del Apache (where sandhill and whooping cranes winter) and White Sands. Soccoro is an artsy kind of place–and Tech offers many arts classes at it Student center.</p>

<p>Don’t be alarmed by Tech’s low graduation rate–it happens for 2 main reasons:</p>

<p>1) NM Lottery Scholarship give free tuition to any NM high school graduate who earns 2.5 GPA. So Tech (and the rest of NM colleges) get alot of underqualified students who lack the math/academic skills needed to survive an engineering program. The underprepared do not last long</p>

<p>2) Socorro is a small town and kids from the ABQ-Santa Fe- Los Alamos corridor eventually transfer to UNM to be closer to both home and the amenities of a larger city.</p>

<p>Kids who stay at Tech and graduate do quite well in terms of jobs and grad school.</p>

<p>Thanks so much WOWMom, I got your email but not sure how to respond privately and don’t have the patience to look it up since it’s past my bedtime. This was exactly the type of information I was looking for, very helpful! It sounds like an absolutely perfect fit for my D, except for being so far away from NY, but that’s more of a problem for me than her :). Husband, Little Sis and I will just have to visit her…If you get a chance or feel so inclined, what is the weather like? D loves Taos (though she’s not a skier she just loves the town) and I know that’s a good 6 hours away in the Mountains but we’ve never been south of ABQ before so not sure how hot or cold it gets etc. Again, thank you for responding, I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>There is skiing in southern NM (see Ruidoso–about 90 minutes from Socorro). There are plenty of mountains near Socorro, mostly to the west and south. The Gila National Wilderness (to south-southwest of Socorro) was the first ever wilderness designated.</p>

<p>And six hours out here is nothing. The west has a whole different sense of distance than does the East. </p>

<p>The feel of Socorro is not terribly different from that of Taos (though without the heavy influence of the tourism industry). </p>

<p>The climate in Socorro is pleasant: mild winters (though it does occasionally snow) with daytime temperatures in the 50’s and nights in the 20’s or 30’s; summers can be hot with temperatures in the mid 90’s to low 100’s (but with almost no humidity). During the summer, there is a monsoon season in July and August (typical for the southwest) with afternoon thunderstorms.</p>

<p>The thunderstorms can generate some spectacular lightning displays and there is an art installation not too far from Socorro that takes advantage of that:</p>

<p>[Dia</a> Art Foundation - Sites](<a href=“Visit Our Locations & Sites | Visit | Dia”>Visit Our Locations & Sites | Visit | Dia)</p>

<p>[The</a> Lightning Field - YouTube](<a href=“The Lightning Field - YouTube”>The Lightning Field - YouTube)</p>

<p>[Lightning</a> Field (Walter de Maria) - YouTube](<a href=“Lightning Field (Walter de Maria) - YouTube”>Lightning Field (Walter de Maria) - YouTube)</p>

<p>My DH attended New Mexico Tech back in the late 70s and early 80s where he double-majored in Math and Psychology. While most students chose the school because they wanted to be engineers, DH chose it because he liked those subjects and wanted the challenge.</p>

<p>Anyway, while there, he studied under a psych professor named Dr. Frank Etscorn. DH assisted Dr. Etscorn in clinical trials using rats and mice. Dr. Etscorn invented the Nicotine Patch while he taught at NM Tech. He discovered the idea after a freak accident in the lab where he accidentally spilled nicotine on his skin which afterward made him feel sick. This happened in '80 or '81 and the patch was patented by him a few years later. He retire in the 90s and is now a multi-millionaire.</p>

<p>DH always talked about him as this amazing professor that he learned so much from and who took DH under his wing. They stayed in a contact on and off for 10 years after DH graduated. I just wanted to share that bit of trivia about one of NM Tech’s past professors which is something the school is proud of, in addition to it being a top-notch hidden gem engineering school.</p>

Hi morkatmom- did your daughter end up at New Mexico Tech? I would love to hear how it has been for her. I just found out about this school and would like to hear more about it. Thanks!

@hm1101

New Mexico Tech

http://www.nmt.edu
http://www.nmt.edu/prospective-students
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/nmt-2654
https://www. facebook .com/newmexicotech [remove extra spaces]