Mexico's National University Orders 58,000 Applicants to Retake Exam Amid Cheating Scandal

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (Unam), the country's largest and most prestigious university, announced on August 4 that approximately 58,000 applicants will have to retake the entrance exam after anomalous results raised suspicions of widespread cheating.

According to the announcement, the retake will be held in person, after the university's first fully remote online test led to problems and thousands of results were voided.

“Unam, the home of science, humanities, and knowledge, knows how to acknowledge mistakes and self-correct. We do not hide or become complacent. We are responsible and will act accordingly,” said Rector Leonardo Lomelí on August 4.

Nearly 160,000 applicants took the entrance exam earlier this summer. The at-home test used AI-integrated webcams to monitor applicants, combined with voice and facial recognition to prevent cheating. However, results showed these measures were not enough.

Data show that from 2021 to 2025, only 3.5% of applicants scored 100 or above (out of 120), but this year that figure was 16%. The proportion of applicants scoring 110 or higher increased sixfold, from 0.9% to 5.5%.

Nearly 30% of applicants to the medical program, one of the most competitive undergraduate degrees in the region, scored 100 or above, compared with 9% last year.

These results triggered a national scandal, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to suggest that the Attorney General's Office might need to investigate. “We are always ready to help, but in any case, if there are criminal acts, that is for the prosecutor's office,” she said.

Hundreds of Unam applicants protested in Mexico City on August 4 against the retake, blocking major roads in the southern part of the capital.

Lomelí said: “I apologize to the applicants who were admitted fairly but will be asked to take a control exam. However, we must ensure certainty and fairness in admissions.”

The push for more equitable access led the university to hold the exam online for the first time this year. Previously, applicants had to travel from other states to Mexico City, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

The entrance exam is notoriously competitive. This year, more than 150,000 applicants competed for 21,962 spots.

Just before results were released, the university announced it had voided the results of 2% of the exams (3,174 tests) after detecting irregularities such as impersonation, external assistance, and AI use. A technical expert who reviewed the results said nearly half of the exams (75,000) might have some degree of cheating. AI could have played a role, but exam questions were also leaked and even sold online during the May and June exam period. Cheating tips were also widely shared before the exam.

Unam filed a criminal complaint in July after detecting these irregularities. The university said authorities would investigate potential wrongdoing by individuals or companies allegedly providing cheating services to applicants and their families.

The cheating scandal forced the university to suspend admissions and establish a technical committee to decide the fate of the 158,712 applicants who took the exam, an unprecedented measure in the university's 115-year history. Lomelí also announced that the new academic year would begin on August 31 instead of August 10 as originally planned.