Is El Paso,Texas the right choice for me? (Houston: middle-class, 2015)

[DougxFresh]

I am currently going to be a Junior in High School, my parents are going to pay for my College so i'm not worried about that. I am living in North West Indiana 25 minutes away from Chicago. I want to go to school at UTEP, I know that UTEP acceptance rate is 99.8% so its fairly easy to get in. I plan on taking Engineering classes at UTEP and then I want to go to UTEP. Im also African American if that helps. So how is El Paso are the Mexican people friendly there. (edit-one sentence deleted) How is El Paso's night life, what are some of the fun things you can do in the city. I would like to here some good feedback because i'm pretty sure I will be moving there in August of 2015. I'm entering my Junior year of High School which is my most important year and looking ahead for my future now. One last thing is that I attend Munster High School in Indiana which is the 6 best High School in Indiana so I am not a dumb student.

[Violet West]

Engineering is one of UTEP's traditional strengths. UTEP is really spending a lot of money on improving and beautifying it's campus, too.

People are friendly here.(mod edit-one sentence delete)

Not a great deal of African American culture here if that matters to you, although there are a lot of Black soldiers which have come in to the area due to Ft. Bliss.

As far as the nightlife goes -- eh, I'm too old to answer that question!

[Rich Cabeza]

You may get very bored and homesick.

[Ankhharu]

Nightlife is lacking. Despite the danger, during my time in El Paso (I was 18-21), we ended up in Juarez Mexico every weekend (I was in the Army). This was in the mid 90's, I'm sure things have changed, but not for the better. El Paso isn't a college town, so it's going to be lacking in those anemities. If your only reason to go to UTEP is due to the acceptance rate, I would look elsewhere, otherwise you'll be miserable. I don't mean to paint El Paso as an awful place, it's not "awful". It's just not a desireable place for your demographic. I think someone who is young and coming from Indiana will hate it. I had some good times in El Paso thanks to my Army bud's, but overall, I hated my 2 years there.

[malamute]

It might be okay for the engineering school but not really if you're looking for nightlife or a fun city or the typical college town kind of experience. If your grades and SAT scores are good, you shouldn't have trouble getting into universities with admission standards but also if you're paying the out-of-state tuition rate, it seems it would be kind of expensive.

[Army_Guy]

Small world, I'm from Park Forest, which is just a few miles west of you.

Have you considered Purdue or UIC? They're both known for their engineering programs.

The life down here isn't bad, it's really hot over the summers, cost of living is low and the people are pretty friendly. If you're looking to pick up girls, there are lots of them here. Lots of outdoor activities go on here.

Personally, I like it here but some people don't like it. There is obviously a very large Mexican presence here, lots of things are in Spanish as well. But I think you can have fun while you're here.

[gone2texas]

I lived in El Paso and graduated from UTEP. The engineering school is great, and the campus itself is unique. But it’s a “commuter” school. El Paso is not really a college town like Austin or Bryan/College Station.

When I lived there, Ciudad Juarez was a lot less dangerous. So we spent a lot of time partying across the border. Nowadays, that might not be a great idea.

El Paso is hot. Like a blast furnace. If you like the desert, you’ll feel right at home there. If you can deal with heat, then city is pretty good for certain outdoor activities like hiking, mountain-biking, and rock-climbing at Hueco Tanks.

The population is mainly Mexican-American. Some old-school Mexicans are racist against blacks. So yes, you may encounter a small amount of racism in El Paso, just like anywhere else in the world. But in general, MOST of the people of El Paso are very tolerant and friendly to all races. You shouldn’t have any real problems as an African-American living there.

And remember…UTEP was the first American university to win a NCAA national basketball championship with an all-black team!

[zdg]

Originally Posted by gone2texas

And remember…UTEP was the first American university to win a NCAA national basketball championship with an all-black team!

Five black starters. Not an all black team.

[NewTexico76]

The engineering program will have plenty of middle-class and upper-class Mexican nationals. For many Americans who are only familiar with Mexicans as impoverished working immigrants, it may be something of a culture clash. Many engineering students will speak Spanish. Some be very friendly and open to practicing English and learning of a different culture from that of the borderland. Others will be closed off and cliquish - only socializing with the friends from their home area. Basically, think of young people with a very preppy style, and whose aspire to be more "European" than American or Mexican.

While this may put some people off, we live in a global world, and at UTEP you will learn to work with people from international backgrounds. You will enjoy this much more if you are open to learning or perfecting your Spanish and studying Latin American culture along with engineering. If that does not sound appealing to you, then UTEP may not be the best school.

And yes it is damn hot in the summer here, but I'd take El Paso heat over Houston, New Orleans, or Jacksonville heat almost any summer day.

[Army_Guy]

Originally Posted by NewTexico76

And yes it is damn hot in the summer here, but I'd take El Paso heat over Houston, New Orleans, or Jacksonville heat almost any summer day.

People back at home (Chicago) think I'm crazy when I tell them I like the heat down here and will take a dry 105 over a humid 85 any day. I spend a decent amount of time in the field conducting military exercises and we sleep outdoors. Even though it's very hot during the day, the temperature change at night actually makes it quite chilly at night.