USW vs. Western New Mexico University

University of the Southwest vs. Western New Mexico University comparison

	University of the Southwest	Western New Mexico University	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	USW	Western New Mexico University
Location	Hobbs, NM	Silver City, NM
Setting	Rural Fringe	Remote Town
Enrollment	1,066	3,378
Type	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	usw.edu	wnmu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	USW	Western New Mexico University
Tuition (In State)	$17,000	$4,770
Tuition (Out of State)	$17,000	$11,400
Room & Board	$8,910	$10,940
Avg Net Price	$20,533	$10,676
Avg Grant Aid	$8,365	$8,967
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	89%

Admission	USW	Western New Mexico University
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	-	-
Admitted	-	-
Acceptance Rate	Open	Open
Enrolled %	Open	Open
Avg High School GPA	2.63	2.5
Typical High School Grades	C+	C+
Admissions Standards	Unavailable	Unavailable
Applicant Competition
ACT Range
SAT Range
Submit Test Scores
Application Deadline		Aug 12, 2025

Academics	USW	Western New Mexico University
Student to Faculty Ratio	19:1	11:1
Popular Majors	Business (36%) Education (29%) Psychology (17%) Biology (7%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (5%)	Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (18%) Business (16%) Health Professions (13%) Education (11%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (7%)
Outcomes	USW	Western New Mexico University
Graduation Rate	18%	13%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$45,700	$35,600
Making Student Loan Payments	47%	34%
Median Student Loan Debt	$23,500	$20,686
Median Loan Payment	$242	$213

Diversity	USW	Western New Mexico University
% Men	38%	33%
% Women	62%	67%
Racial Diversity	Very High	High
HBCU	No	No
% White	12%	29%
% Black	14%	7%
% Hispanic	47%	51%
% Native American	0%	3%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	0%	1%
% International	0%	2%
% Unknown Race	26%	6%

Students	USW	Western New Mexico University
% In-State	48%	75%
% Out-of-State	48%	23%
Campus	USW	Western New Mexico University
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	Yes
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Western New Mexico University is larger than than USW based on total student enrollment (3,378 students vs. 1,066 students)

USW vs. Western New Mexico University Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, USW or Western New Mexico University?

• University of the Southwest is 256.4% more expensive to attend than Western New Mexico University for in-state tuition ($17,000.00 vs. $4,770.00)
• Out of state tuition is 49.1% higher at USW than Western New Mexico University ($17,000.00 vs. $11,400.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Western New Mexico University than USW ($10,676 vs. $20,533)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at University of the Southwest are 22.8% lower than costs at Western New Mexico University ($8,910 vs. $10,940)
• More students receive financial grant aid at University of the Southwest than Western New Mexico University (100% vs. 89%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Western New Mexico University students is 7.2% larger than aid received University of the Southwest ($8,967 vs. $8,365)

Which college is harder to get into, USW or Western New Mexico University? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Western New Mexico University or USW .

• Accepted freshman USW students have a 0.13 point higher average high school GPA (2.63) than students at Western New Mexico University (2.5)

USW vs. Western New Mexico University Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, USW or Western New Mexico University? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Western New Mexico University and USW.

• The graduation rate at USW is higher than Western New Mexico University (18% vs. 13%)
• Graduates from University of the Southwest earn on average $10,100 more per year than Western New Mexico University graduates after ten years. ($45,700 vs. $35,600)
• Western New Mexico University students graduate with a $2,814 lower median federal student loan debt than USW graduates. ($20,686 vs. $23,500)
• Western New Mexico University graduates are paying $29 less per month on federal student loans than USW graduates. ($213 vs. $242)
• More USW graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Western New Mexico University students, three years after graduation. (47% vs. 34%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/