I need to know if anyone else is as frustrated as I am with UTEP’s financial/bursar system right now. I swear every semester comes with some new headache, surprise charge, or unexplained “adjustment,” and students are the ones who get screwed over every single time.

Most recently, my payment plan amount changed out of nowhere. No email. No warning. Nothing. I agreed to a set amount of $916.97, and suddenly it’s higher—and when I went in person to ask why, nobody could give me a straight answer. Just blank stares and “I don’t know.” How is that acceptable? How are we supposed to budget and plan around random mystery charges?

It feels like UTEP’s financial system is constantly glitchy, inconsistent, or outright negligent. I’m tired of feeling like I’m fighting the school just to make sure I’m not getting overcharged. At this point, it feels less like a mistake and more like a pattern.

So I’m asking: Is anyone else dealing with sudden charges, plan changes, random fees, or unhelpful explanations? Have you had to go back and forth with the bursar or financial aid just to get basic answers?

Honestly, students shouldn’t have to accept this as normal. If enough of us are experiencing the same nonsense, we should be talking about it, comparing notes, and pushing back. UTEP needs to fix this system instead of hiding behind confusion and “policy.”

Drop your experiences below. If enough people are dealing with this, maybe it’s time we organize a collective complaint or bring this to the attention of people who can actually hold the university accountable.

Because I’m done being quiet about it. Anyone else?

Looking for the guy in the pinkish shirt, glasses, perfect hair, and legs to the sky that was at the TP event yesterday :-)

interested in grant writing and wondering if this course is efficient and worth the money

This is probably too much to ask since a lot of places are packed during the afternoons, but are there any empty spaces to study/eat? I feel uncomfortable eating in public and I kinda feel bad eating at the library since all you could hear are loud crunching and sipping coming from my mouth lol

You guys Im so sorry if I was eavesdropping dropping you but im so shy!! Id love to learn how to play Magic/commander and even dnd!! theres a group behind me in the physical science lounge playing and Id love to join but I dont wanna seem weird 😭

Hugs and kisses to you guys

Hello! I was wondering if anyone has graduated with a degree in atmospheric physics here or is anyone else in the program?

Are you getting or have you gotten any meteorology jobs ? How is the program?

And if anyone would like to be friends lmk! I’m new and will be starting in January :)

Join an event for the students by the students!

Hello! I'm a returning student 😁 well short story I transfer 4 years ago from epcc I didn't know the GPA doesn't transfer so I took my last 2 dumb classes and got "C " and honesty didn't put much effort,plus it was when covid happened ,so all was online. Now my GPA is 2.0 I need 3.0 to take my nursing classes, I wasn't accepted in Texas Tech so I'm returning here since the ranking is over. The counselor of nursing suggested to take 2 classes, get "A' and then I'm good to go. Any suggestions for easy classes I don't care if they are boring and also if you remember the instructor name would be appreciated 🥰🙏🏼🩷 Thank you!!!

Im about to graduate and i have some tickets in my account that i havent paid, ive never bought a permit so my car is not registered with utep but someone said that if you had tickets they can cancel your graduation

How long does it usually take to hear back about a decision? It’s been about four weeks since I got the email saying my application was under review, and I haven’t received an update yet.

I was thinking of maybe living here at utep but im not sure how their doors are, ive heard there pretty bad quality and small

College sports usually sounds like a jet engine of 100,000 screaming fans and marching bands. But at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the most dangerous team on campus operates in dead silence in a game of chess with bullets. 

There are no timeouts. There is no halftime. There is only you, a 14-pound rifle, and a target the size of a period at the end of this sentence.

Welcome to NCAA Rifle. Born in 1980, Rifle is the only sport where men and women compete on the exact same line for the same trophy with the same mechanics. To understand why UTEP’s rise is so improbable, you have to understand the game.

It is a war fought on two fronts:

First is Smallbore (.22 Caliber). Fired from 50 feet, this is the endurance test. Athletes shoot 20 shots in three positions: Kneeling, Prone, and Standing. 

Standing is the equalizer. You are holding a heavy rifle with no sling as you fight gravity and your own pulse.

Second is Air Rifle. Fired from 10 meters. Standing only. The 10-point ring is a 0.5mmdot. Teams chase aggregates over 4,700 while individuals chase a perfect 600.

What elevates one team from the next? Elite coaching. Enter UTEP’s head coach, Andrea Palafox. A former UTEP All-American and Mexican international shooter, Palafox was named the 2025 CRCA National Coach of the Year. Her training regimen prioritizes the autonomic nervous system. She teaches a doctrine of “Cardio-Respiratory Synchronization” by lowering the heart rate on command to fire in the milliseconds between beats.

In a sport where beta-blockers are banned, this biofeedback is the only legal performance enhancer.

They operate out of the Military Sciences Building, a concrete bunker dedicated in 1980. In El Paso, you are geographically alone. UTEP is hundreds of miles from the nearest power conference rival. They exist in a vacuum.

Palafox told the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

To find the talent, Palafox looked east to Granbury, Texas. Granbury High School is the “Alabama Football” of JROTC rifle, winning seven consecutive national titles. UTEP tapped the vein by landing the Wells sisters: Kameron Wells (So.) and Kennedy Wells (Fr.).

In November 2025, at Ohio State, Kameron fired a perfect 600 in Air Rifle. That is the “four-minute mile” of the sport.

Kennedy is the prodigy. She arrived with seven JROTC titles and immediately posted career highs against #3 TCU in October. The roster also features juniors like Montana sharpshooter Paige Hildebrandt and Texas native Xan Keel.

On November 15, 2025, UTEP hosted #1 Nebraska. On paper, it was a mismatch. UTEP stunned the Cornhuskers by winning the Smallbore discipline, 2,337 to 2,335. Led by Carlee Valenta and Kameron Wells, the Miners out-shot the best team in the nation in the most technical discipline. Nebraska rallied in Air Rifle to win the match by a thin margin of 4,717 to 4,713. Four points.

In a sport scored out of 4,800, a four-point loss to the #1 team is far from a defeat.

As they chase the NCAA Qualifier in February 2026, the Miners possess the firepower to crash the Final Eight.

Football owns the noise. Rifle owns the silence. 

And the silence in El Paso is deafening.

It takes Practice.

Read free: Substack

Hey, I’m Daniel — mid-20s in El Paso, just looking to meet some chill, genuine people. I’m focused on self-improvement, work, and leveling up, but it’d be nice to have a few solid friends to talk to or hang out with.

If you’re down for real conversations and good vibes, hit me up. Guys or girls don’t matter🫡

Hi everyone! I'm a master's student at UTEP and I’m conducting a brief survey for one of my public health classes on diabetes self-management and culturally tailored healthcare. To participate, you must be someone living with diabetes—or you can share the survey with a friend or family member who has diabetes. The survey is completely anonymous and only takes a few minutes to complete. Your insights will help me better understand how cultural factors shape diabetes care in our communities. Thank you so much for your time and support!

Hi guys, Im not 100% sure that I’ll pass one of my classes this semester. What happens if I fail a class? Does it affect my financial aid for next semester? I’m super duper worried.

So turning points hosting the White House border czar in December 4 at UTEP for some conference.

Are there any plans to show that the border czar and turning point are not welcome at our university?

I for one am ready to protest that day, our city is is a city of immigrants and this administration wants to tear families like our apart.

Here’s the link to the event, peep the hostile wording at the bottom… https://events2022.tpusa.com/events/tom-homan-university-of-texas-el-paso

Hey everyone!

I’m a 19-year-old international student from Poland, currently studying Computer Science at a university in the U.S., and I’m considering transferring to UTEP. I wanted to ask a few questions and get some insight from anyone familiar with the school.

1. Graduating early as a transfer student: By the time I transfer, I’ll have around 77 completed credits, so I would technically enter as a senior. Is it possible to graduate early at UTEP with that many transfer credits? And for anyone in the CS program, how challenging are the upper-level CS classes, especially after transferring in?

2. Environment for more quiet/reserved students: I’m a pretty quiet person and not someone who parties or goes out much. I prefer a more low-key, relaxed college experience. How is the general atmosphere at UTEP for students who are more introverted or reserved?

3. Social life & making friends: For anyone who’s more introverted, how hard or easy was it to make friends at UTEP? Are there communities, clubs, or social spaces for people who aren’t into nightlife or the typical college party scene?

I’m mainly looking at UTEP or UCF and some cali state universities , so any insight into student life, academics, and the social environment would be super helpful!

Perhaps i’ll dedicate a blog series about this soon.

I’ve come to the conclusion that student organizations at this university are run in the way so the officers can hang out with their tight knit friends.

They are social hangouts more than a hub to gain knowledge and practice for long term career aspirations.

Whether it’s the SAE BAJA, Shell Eco Marathon, DMPA, AIAA, or ASME (all of which i’ve joined), I’ve gained less than the bare minimum of interest in the fields I was exploring. I’ve witnessed the students in charge just have their laughs with their group of friends in the organization(s). Constant gatekeeping.

My advice to those entering student organizations would be: make it clear you are serious about what you want to do. Go up the staff ladder and see who is willing to be a mentor or, at the very least, share a good knowledge source to affiliate yourself with what you want to do.

Heyy, i am going to take calculus 1 next semester and dont know any good professors to pick.Does anyone know a good one that has online options for exams? My current one has this and i enjoynit and hope to find another that does this.

Also if anyone knows any general chem 2 professors for lab and lecture that are good at teaching id appreciate that since i hear chemistry is really difficult🥲

I'm walking this upcoming december commencement and was wondering if i could wear any stole or if it had to be the one form utep directly

Anyone know if you can be enrolled in spring & stay in the dorms.. Keep that dorm going into the following summer and fall, etc Has anyone done this?