>>16872770In Mexico, there are three types of universities:
1. Public universities
2. Private non-profit universities
3. Private for-profit universities
Public universities have loads of students (more than 50k per university in most cases) and receive heavy endowments from federal and state governments. Because most public universities will take in just about anybody who can pass entry exams (which are usually extremely easy to pass), they have tens of thousands of students coming in every semester. However, many of them fail during the first year or so, which is why it's extremely common for many university students to either drop out or pick an "easy" college major. The few who actually end up getting a degree from a public university are often highly respected by Mexican society in general.
Non-profit private universities in Mexico are known for being somewhat more selective, with highly competitive entry exams and very high tuition fees (which are relatively low in comparison to the ones for American and British universities). They're also known for producing good engineers and doctors, but are somewhat behind public universities with regard to scientific research opportunities.
Lastly, there are for-profit private universities, which are known for letting in just about anyone willing to pay semester tuition fees who didn't totally fail high school. They are known for being extremely lax and for not having challenging coursework, which is why many people who were rejected from other universities or dropped out of other universities end up in these universities. There is a strong stigma against people from for-profit universities, since it's often claimed that people there are partygoing stoners from rich families who are incapable of dealing with difficult tasks or of staying committed to their work.
All 3 types of universities have some professors who are passionate about helping their students learn, and others who are indifferent to their students.
