<p>Looking for any info on this school......</p>
<p>Ask your questions and I’ll do my best to answer. I live near main campus and had 1 child graduate form UNM recently. Know many more kids who are current students or recent grads.</p>
<p>Love to hear info as well, my d will attend for a semester as part of an exchange program with her home college in Florida. we were just looking at flights earlier. does the university have a shuttle to/from ABQ airport? general info on area, any specifics about safety?</p>
<p>^^
I took a tour of the campus over spring break and I’m almost positive that they said the shuttle could take you from the school to the ABQ airport. But I would call to be 100% sure.</p>
<p>You can absolutely take a bus from the airport to UNM. ABQ has a great bus system. Just google them and you can find their schedule. </p>
<p>UNM is generally safe if you’re not wandering around campus at 2 AM. It’s in the middle of a city, and that has it’s ups and downs in terms of safety. The general rules of safety- always let someone know where you are, don’t go anywhere by yourself at night, etc. apply here, no matter what the students on campus say. It’s just good sense. ABQ is a pretty cool city, it’s just dangerous in pockets- I wouldn’t go anywhere near the west side (there are exceptions, of course, but it’s a general rule of thumb). That’s just about all I can say for safety. As for the area, there’s a ton of cool stuff to do- camping in the Jemez, the tram that goes up the Sandias, and ABQ also has great food, especially in the UNM area, there’s Frontier across the street from UNM, and great greek food in either direction on that block. Also, in Old Town (down central from UNM) there’s Duran’s Pharmacy, which turns into an eatery during lunch hours. Highly recommended for the full New Mexico experience. You have to eat some chili, or you simply didn’t visit NM. ABQ also has a great aquarium; ABQ museum is also great, and so is the natural history and science museum. Your d can also take the Railrunner out to Santa Fe and explore the many art galleries there. I also recommend the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. If she’s there during the fall, she’ll be lucky enough to see the balloons fly over the city during Balloon Fiesta. (Probably the best time of year!) ABQ is also a very easy town to get around- if she has a UNM student ID, she can get a sticker on it that allows her to ride the bus for free. And if you’re wondering about weather- it’s dry. Very dry. Be prepared for that. It also does not rain or snow, no matter what you’ve read. If it does, it’s very, very rare. It does get very cold when you get close to winter; ABQ has hot days and cold nights. Pack a good coat/jacket. You’ll need long sleeves, but not super heavy clothing for winter. With any luck she won’t attend school during spring. New Mexico is really miserable during the spring- constant (sometimes hurricane force) wind…hope that’s a helpful overview of the area. (I have several friends who go to UNM and love it.)</p>
<p>EDIT: It’s not the west side, it’s the south valley. I didn’t get enough sleep when writing this.</p>
<p>gidget is pretty spot-on in her comments.</p>
<p>UNM runs a shuttle service, but it doesn’t serve the airport. (You can still ask; they may have a special move-in schedule or offer one by reservation.)</p>
<p>[.::</a> Welcome to UNM Parking and Transportation Services ::.](<a href=“http://pats.unm.edu/index.cfm].::”>http://pats.unm.edu/index.cfm)</p>
<p>You can ride the city bus from the Sunport (airport) to campus, but it’s not a direct route. You take the Airport/Downtown bus (NOT the Rio Bravo/Sunport–it goes in the wrong direction) to Central Ave and transfer* to the eastbound Central Ave bus or the Central Ave Rapid Ride. Exit the Central Ave bus at Yale. Exit the Rapid Ride at the Frontier/UNM stop.</p>
<p>*transfers are free, but you need to ask for one when boarding/paying on the first bus.</p>
<p>Weekday and weekend schedules differ a lot, so check in advance</p>
<p>[Routes</a> & Schedules - City of Albuquerque](<a href=“http://www.cabq.gov/transit/routes-and-schedules]Routes”>Routes & Schedules — City of Albuquerque)</p>
<p>Another alternative is the Sunport Shuttle–which requires advance reservations and isn’t free.</p>
<p>A taxi ride to main campus is ~ $20.</p>
<p>~~~~~~~</p>
<p>Nob Hill (directly east of campus along Central Ave) has many excellent restaurants (Greek, Asian, French, Italian, Mexican, Irish pub, etc). It’s also full of boutiques, specialty stores, casual dining, an art/independent movie theater… Lots of fun shopping in the area and a huge student hangout.</p>
<p>~~~~~~~</p>
<p>The UNM campus is generally safe, even at night. (My high schooler and her friends used to go down there all the time for events/activities/performances, etc, at night) But the campus is in an urban area and anyone out alone at night needs to exercise reasonable precautions. </p>
<p>~~~~~~</p>
<p>One other kicky thing I recommend to OOSer is if you’re there in September, go to the NM State Fair. One of the top 10 biggest in the US and it’s located about 1.5 miles east of campus along Central. (Take the bus, parking is miserable.) Everything from livestock auctions to carnival rides to Indian dances to mariachi bands to sheepdog competitions to horse pulls to real live rodeos and horse races … and all the fast food you can possibly ever want.</p>
<p>If you’re from an citified area of the country, it’s a unique experience.</p>
<p>~~~~~~~</p>
<p>Fall weather is glorious. Winter is warm days and cold nights (like below freezing and often into the low 20’s). You’ll definitely need a winter jacket. Spring is windy. (In fairness, the fall can be too.) Expect sudden, spotty thunderstorms in July-Sept (monsoon season) which don’t last long and often rain on side of the street but not the other.</p>
<p>thanks so very much gidget and wayoutwestmom! such great detailed information…I was away on business in san francisco, and was told that New Mexico is even more beautiful than California. I just now read your posts aloud to my daughter and your suggestions got her so excited, and already looking forward to the beautiful weather, great food, and meeting lots of new people. I may visit her for parents’ weekend, or sometime in the fall. any tips on best time for a parent to visit?</p>
<p>Balloon Fiesta is Oct 1-9 this year. It’s either a good time or bad time depending on how you want to define it. There are usually several thousand visitors (~6,000-8,000) descending on the city for Balloon Fiesta. Crowds of up to 100,000 are not uncommon for events. Which means hotel rooms and restaurants are crowded, but it’s a fun week and usually the weather is primo. The city sponsors plenty of activities to go with the fiesta and runs extra busses to festival site.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta](<a href=“Not Found”>http://www.balloonfiesta.com/)</p>
<p>Parents Weekend is Sept 16-18</p>
<p>Parents’ Weekend usually centers around a UNM football game. This year it’s between UNM and Texas Tech. (WARNING: the football team was awful last year and it’s looking dismal for this season too. Picked to finished last in the conference. Again.) The football loss may put a damper of some of the happy spirits of the weekend.</p>
<p>[Family</a> Weekend | The University of New Mexico](<a href=“http://familyweekend.unm.edu/]Family”>http://familyweekend.unm.edu/)</p>
<p>ABQ’s weather is on the hot side thru most of Sept. I’d come the last week of Sept thru early Nov.–that’s when the weather is best. (My husband used to say ABQ in Oct is what weather in heaven must be like.) The aspens in the mountains east of town will be turning golden and the smell of roasting green chile is in the air. November weather is more unpredictable–either it’s really nice or winter squalls start setting in.</p>
<p>If you decide to come visit, PM me and I’ll make more detailed suggestions about what to see, where to stay etc.</p>
<p>Be sure to try some green chile while you’re here. Fall green chile is freshly roasted, delicious and addictive.</p>
<p>thanks again wayoutwestmom! I’m looking at visiting end of September and possibly being able to go to the balloon fiesta for one or two days. will pm you for any suggested hotels, looking at the hotel blue?</p>
<p>I know this is 2 years old, but because of New Mexico’s Natl. Merit scholarship I am now considering this school. Can anyone tell me about their geology program, such as how it’s ranked, graduate school placement, out of state prestige, etc?</p>
<p>WarriorOwl–I sent you a PM about UNM’s geology.</p>
<p>tldr version–It’s a well-regarded top 40 program with tons of local resources at 2 different National Labs. Also UNM earth sciences is very active in the Mars Rover geology program. Recent undergrads/grads student have research packages aboard Curiosity.</p>
<p>NM has varied and interesting geological features, including active volcanism and ancient exposed seabeds. Also many of the largest and deepest caves systems in the US. (Karst studies is a specialty here.)</p>