One of the biggest hurdles for international students seeking higher education in the United States is the crushing debt, as they often don’t have a choice but to pay out-of-state tuition. But one school in New Mexico is trying to make that a non-issue by offering students from Mexico a highly reduced rate. New Mexico State University’s new initiative, Descubre, is nearly halving the cost of out-of-state tuition for Mexicans. Full-time undergraduate students’ will pay $4,691 for a semester, and full-time graduate students will spend $3,975. With this new program, students from Mexico will pay slightly more than students who are eligible for in-state tuition.
The school already has a decent number of Mexican students on campus, and they hope to increase that number. “Mexico is typically one of the top three countries sending international students to NMSU, with approximately 175-200 studying at both the graduate and undergraduate level annually,” Cornell Menking, the associate provost for International and Border Programs, said. “Despite NMSU’s long history of being a popular destination for students from Mexico, the Descubre Program is designed to attract still more Mexican students to the university.” The school – which has collaborated with Tecnológico Nacional de México and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in the past – will recruit students in Chihuahua and Sonora.
The most refreshing part of this measure is that amidst a tense political climate that has stoked nativist, anti-immigrant sentiment, NMSU is welcoming their neighbors with open arms. To qualify for Descubre, students must be Mexican citizens, be on an F or J visa sponsored by the school’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services, and be admitted to NMSU. The reduced tuition will kick in fall 2016, and it isn’t just for incoming students. Find out more information here.