New Mexico State University is my university of choice.
Here's some propaganda from www.nmsu.edu:
The Institute for Scientific Information ranked NMSU second among U.S. universities in the impact of its engineering research because of citations of NMSU work in researchers' publications worldwide.
NMSU has been ranked for the fourth consecutive year as One of America's 100 Best College Buys for being above average academically and below average in cost.
The Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2000 survey of high school guidance counselors nationwide ranks NMSU a "Hidden Treasure" because its quality liberal arts education and educational value for the cost are underrecognized.
NMSU is one of 89 Universities on the Carnegie Foundation's list of Research I Universities.
Three national Hispanic publications rank NMSU among the best for Hispanic students.
New Mexico State University, based in Las Cruces, is the state's university, with more than 23,800 students on five campuses.
New Mexico State University, which began in 1888 as an agricultural college and preparatory school, is a comprehensive institution dedicated to teaching, research, and service. The university is in the southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces, which has a population of about 85,000. The region features desert mesas, the farmlands of the Rio Grande Valley, and the Organ Mountains, an extension of the Rocky Mountain chain.
Total fall 1999 enrollment for NMSU main campus and branch campuses is 23,818. The main campus enrollment is 15,449; branch campuses total 8,217; and the Las Cruces Extension courses, 152. Minority enrollment is about 46 percent (39 percent Hispanic, 3 percent American Indian, 2 percent African-American and 2 percent Asian-American).
Regular faculty members on the main campus number 654. Eighty-one percent of the full-time faculty hold earned doctoral degrees. The faculty/student ratio is 1 to 18.5. The professional and classified staff total 2,724.
Classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research I Institution, NMSU has research expenditures exceeding $100 million a year. The university anchors the southern end of New Mexico's Rio Grande Research Corridor.
blah, blah, blah....
I like it though - the relatively small campus is nice and while Las Cruces isn't exactly a party city, I really enjoy living here. The sky is incredible, the food is wonderful, and coming from Houston, the mountains and occasional change in altitude is really neat!