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[eo-nomine]

Hola folks,

I've been thinking about studying at the UNAM - not to do an intercambio thing, but to do a full carrera. My Spanish is good but most importantly I can write well in Spanish, so I think I can pull it off but I've been hearing rather scary stuff from Mexicans recently, so I thought I'd ask here. How hard exactly is it to pass the entrance exam? Do you *have* to go to one of those expensive vestibular style preparation centers before sitting the exam? As a foreigner, do you think I would be disadvantaged compared to other mexicans (some peeps from the cedep seemed to think I would be)?

Also, is it common for mexicans to study and work (full time) at the same time?

Thanks in advance, suerte,

eo nomine

[cwc]

Why do you want to go to UNAM? Even though UNAM is the highest academic governing body in Mexico, few students from provincia aspire to go there. UDLA or TEC are the main options if you don�t have to be in DF. What do you want to study? What is your nationality? Mexico has this thing about it taking a very long time to get your degree after you have completed the coursework. These are real questions. Please don�t read any sarcasm into them.

[eo-nomine]

Hola,

Thanks for the quick response! First off I should say that I am just looking into studying at the UNAM and not dead-set on going there. I am one of those who really like DF, and the UNAM happens to be in DF. It has a good reputation, including in economics (as far as I know), which is what I planned to study. It was also very high in the 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement, which really caught my attention, so I decided to look more seriously into the uni.

I have three nationalities, New Zealander, Irish and French.

Cheers,

Eo

[MELEE]

I have some more questions for you.
Do you already have a Bachelor's degree?
Are you looking to do one or an MA?
If you want to do a Bachelor's, one of the biggest issues if it were me would be the time. Lost of courses in Mexico are 5 years of course work, then you have to do this outragous (for BA level) thesis. Most students spend one year working on their thesis, so they've worked for 6 years and they only have a BA.
If you are looking to do an MA, then its a whole different story. My husband is doing his MA in Maths from UNAM. He had an entrance exam, and an entrance interview and more weight was given to the interview. He has the option of doing comprehensive exams or a thesis. The professors are the best in the country, many recoginized internationally, at the MA level his classes are very small, the average class size is 4! (of course this is maths we're talking about)

UNAM has a very extensive web site, that has loads of information that is not that easy to find, I've spent several hours looking for information I saw on there once, but couldn't find the path back to it again!

[tortuga]

What does UNAm charge foreigners to study? (Either those pursuing a degree or just taking individual classes)

[eo-nomine]

Uh ho... 6 years to complete a BA does sound like a lot indeed (yes, I do want to do a BA). BAs were also quite long to complete in Argentina (thanks to the Ciclo Basico Comun), is this the norm in Latin American universities?

You said "most courses" are 5-year courses... is there a page on the UNAM website with more details about this? I've been looking into it but as you said, it's quite a challenge to find what you're looking for on the site.

Anyway, thanks for the info!

[tortuga]

Uh, hello? Prices? Anyone willing to share?

[MELEE]

[tortuga]

In reply to your post, thanks for the information.

You are not a nice person, as this and your previous posts show. Also, I posted this several days ago, the times on the webpage are different.

[Guy Courchesne]

MELEE is a nice, but busy person.

I don't post this thought much, but there is google to answer many of the questions people post on this forum. I'm always happy to help someone out, but sometimes I wonder if google remains a mystery to some people.