UNM welcomed 15 National Merit Scholars and 24 National Hispanic Scholars into the freshman class this year.
These 39 scholars add to the 15 Merit and Hispanic scholars who were already enrolled, said Rosalie Otero, director of the University Honors Program.
According to a UNM press release, this is a 275 percent jump in the number of National Merit Scholars and a 140 percent jump in National Hispanic Scholars at UNM.
President Schmidly said in a statement that this makes UNM the premier institution of higher learning in New Mexico.
"Increasing the number of National Merit Scholars and National Hispanic Scholars is a significant achievement for UNM," he said. "We are on the right track toward attracting the best and brightest to New Mexico."
There is currently no cap on the number of Merit Scholars that can be accepted to the University, but if there were, it would be due to a lack of funding for scholarships, Otero said.
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"The president is really interested in getting more of these students at UNM, so I think he will do anything in his power to find scholarship money for these students," she said.
National Merit Scholar Ginny Cochran has lived in New Mexico most of her life and always planned to attend UNM.
She said having her tuition paid in full will allow her to focus on school.
"It's really nice to not have to have my parents pay for college or to have to get a job," Cochran said.
Cochran is one of 1.4 million high school students who competed for a National Merit Scholarhip, Otero said. Cochran worked to obtain the minimum score of 208 on the Practice SAT exam to qualify for scholarship money through the program.
National Hispanic Scholar Sharalaina Piro-Rael scored well on the test but also maintained a 4.0 GPA in high school.
Otero said these students are a positive addition to UNM's campus.
"I think these students raise the level of discourse at the University - they challenge other students. They are models, and they are leaders," she said. "All of that is extremely helpful then - it helps every other student at the institution become even better."
Cochran declared her major in physics as soon as she enrolled at UNM.
"I like doing a lot of different things," Cochran said. "I love to read, I like learning languages .... I'm still trying to find a subject I don't like."
Piro-Rael's major is music education.
She plays percussion and the oboe, and she wants to perfect these skills while earning her degree.
Piro-Rael said she hopes UNM will continue recruiting National Merit Scholars.
"Collectively, the percent of the student body who are highly successful makes people work harder," she said. "Students who work hard and are willing to work hard to be successful improves the college environment."
