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School discriminates against people who are not from local schools and if you are a transfer forget it. They don’t help people who have the ability to obtain student loans . In fact , they give you a hard time to obtain them even though as a Citizen of the United States. Yet they provide help to everyone who lives in both places between Juarez New Mexico and EL Paso Texas. It is corrupt. Department of Education should review and audit their Department of Financial Aid and see whose supposed to really... Read More get them and not just give them away because people apparently know how to work the system and pretend to only have so much income yet their whole family lives in a over 250,000 dollars home and get grants. It’s very biased and if you are not Hispanic or Latino decent then forget it they will nickel and dime you . Dont waste your time here because again if your are not from El Paso originally they see you as a outsider and treat you as such!!!. Department of Education as well as FAFSA should audit this place!!!. The teacher they had who taught Chemistry and Science you could not even understand what they are saying , no matter how much students complained and yet they expected them to pay their tuition they forced them to keep the teacher which in the end fails them. It’s corrupt and bias.

The 1320 Math instructor Khamala Bethuel is an example of a good instructor at UTEP. We need more instructors like him that make a difference in people's lives. I went to his class one day and asked him if I could sit in his class to listen to his lectures because I was a late arrival, and the semester had already started. He was very kind and informed me to register for his class. He told me where to go, and two days later I was enrolled in his class. Due to him allowing me to take his class I finally... Read More graduated at the age of 53. Thank you, Mr. Bethuel, you don't know how much that meant to me. God bless you!

Compared to other universities, UTEP doesn't have the stellar reputation or same status but it is a great place to pursue a college degree without incurring a ton of debt. During the four years I attended UTEP, my total tuition and fees came out to roughly $20,000 which is almost one semester's tuition at other universities. Along with the fairly cheap (at least by university standards) tuition, there is a wide variety of programs and degrees to suit whatever you are interested in. Faculty and staff... Read More are the keys to getting through college, so find someone you admire and trust early on and use them for support and opportunities so you can make the most out of your college experience

UTEP was a great place for my education. Staff and students were all helpful and I felt that UTEP had a very prideful and insightful environment and atmosphere for it's students. I did come into situations in which I struggled with certain professors and not being able to understand their thick accents and/or teaching styles but UTEP provides several options for tutoring and aid to their students. There were several options class wise and lots of choices to make that were difficult to chose from... Read More because they were all so interesting. I also found that the social events were a great way to feel like you were a part of the community. Admissions and financial aid department were very slow but always nice. I did find that I had to submit things more than once on more than one occasion, so they may need to improve on their organizational skills and things of that aspect. However, the overall community of UTEP was one to remember.

The school is great and all but they really s**** you over when it comes to money. They s*** every possible penny out of that they can. You have to pay for parking. And if you can't afford the ridiculous prices of the parking permits, you're out of luck. Park half a mile away and have fun walking. Otherwise, if you park in a parking-pass-only zone, you'll end up receiving a $250 parking ticket. We're already paying so much in tuition. "Most Affordable" MY A**. They can't just let us park wherever... Read More we want. Please don't come to this University. I hope to see it buried under rubble before I die. I'll never recommend this place.

It is important to note that UTEP as university does not rank at all in either the QS, Times Higher Education or AWRU World University Rankings. Hence you do not go to this university to be competitive within academia nor expect career compensation on a commensurate monetary level as a Top Tier or even 100 ranked university. The university itself is not particularly horrendous. True the architecture is quite striking and represents one of its unique features. However, one does not borrow to remain... Read More in perpetual debt to stare at buildings. You get and pay for higher education to reap later opportunities for a viable career, one that correlates with your studies and knowledge gained as a student. With that said, my review addresses one particular academic specialty offered by UTEP. For those interested in careers in National Security or Intelligence, UTEP is one of the IC ACE (IC Centers for Academic Excellence) under the DIA. If you examine the current list of schools who classify, all with the exception of Penn State are sub-par in terms of academic ranking, reputation and overall competitiveness. As such, you should NOT expect to be recruited by premier alphabet federal agencies such as the CIA, ODI, FBI or DIA and possibly even Homeland Security. At most you can hope for facilities security related positions, HR clerks and possibly enforcement patrol, boots on the ground type jobs with CBP. The so-called meet and greet sessions with organizations such as the CIA are just for PR and possibly federal funding in order to promote the organization, establish a visible presence for IC ACE relations in reference to US Deep State/MIC in education. Read A Curriculum of Fear by Nicole Nguyen. The IC ACE program is just an extension of the Milton High School program at a secondary level and subsequently proof of further militarization of academia. See Prof. David N. Gibbs research on the topic for further information. Nevertheless, UTEP NSSI program will not prepare you adequately for a position at an alphabet agency. I have direct experience with several in terms of the interview process and this includes two Five Eyes countries intelligence services. I would strongly advise having an established military background with an appropriate MOS, preferably working INT with high level clearance and exposure to analysis. Foreign language acquisition is mandatory. Being or becoming a polyglot is an enormous plus. Every agency requests a preference for both. Military is valuable for the vetting process and indoctrination. Consider Ray McGovern and Richard Steele whose military backgrounds paved the way for later work with the CIA. Finally I would also suggest majoring in fields of specialty as opposed to a generic umbrella like liberal arts program such as Intelligence studies. It is of no intrinsic value compared to niche field studies which examine particular academic hard or soft specialty degrees such as those in STEM fields or at best, obscure historical or cultural topics, such as Small State Studies, International Economic History or even Ancient Folklore and Mythology. Anthropology comes to mind, especially cultural or sociology based specialties. I would also suggest overseas exposure. Long term. Think Exchange student for extended periods. Total immersion including culturally and linguistically. This is a problem in America's ego-centric, indispensable exceptionalist jingo which serves to indoctrinate the young through a combination of hubris and fear of the unknown. Travel, gain first hand experience and real world knowledge. My final critique with UTEP is the faculty. None have applicable real world intelligence experience. Some have military background which is not the same as in the civilian world working for an agency. I can get more real world knowledge reading the articles written by ex-CIA McGovern or Philip Giraldi at Consortium News or watching Richard Steele on YouTube droning on about the need for total all source open intelligence as a reform for the CIA. This is a problem at UTEP and probably the entire IC ACE program. In fact, this was addressed in the Washington Post article, "Colleges Must Be Intelligent About Intelligence Studies" written by ex-CIA, professor of History, Nicholas Dujmovic. This was followed by a limited response from two UTEP professors entitled, "Can colleges teach intelligence? Three security studies professors argue they can, and should" I seriously suggest you READ BOTH. Pay special attention to the second follow up response comments. There are 14 comments including Dr. Dujmovic's timely response which adequately confirms my own beliefs and experience. as he correctly states, "professional academics, with little to no actual intelligence experience, who have an interest in perpetuating the degree programs they run." The additional comments are of equal merit as they brutally confront the apparent hypocrisy of the such academic programs from what genuinely appears to be INT insiders with both military and civilian intelligence experience. On a final personal note, I would like to express my disdain for the program's coordinator, Carmen B. Medellin whose has shown to be completely inconsiderate and rude to student needs and inquiries. I left the program with a 4.0 and returned to NYC. Do your due diligence.