Mexico City.- The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) announced this Friday that it will administer an additional in-person exam to applicants selected for undergraduate admission for the 2026-2027 academic year, after detecting statistical anomalies and signs of irregularities due to the alleged use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its first admission process conducted entirely online.
“It is not a new exam, it is a control exam precisely to ensure that the accepted individuals actually made an effort and did not have help that gave them an advantage over the other applicants,” stated the rector of the UNAM, Leonardo Lomelí.
The decision comes a week after the institution temporarily suspended enrollments and created a commission made up of specialists to review the selection process, following allegations of alleged use of artificial intelligence, identity theft, and external support during the administration of the test.
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The executive explained that the measure seeks to ensure the fairness of the process after the technical commission concluded that the results of the competition showed atypical changes compared to previous years.
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When announcing the determination, Lomelí assured that the measure seeks to preserve equity in access to higher education.
“It was for this reason that, having received this recommendation, I consider it very appropriate to resort to a control examination to verify results due to alleged irregularities,” he stated.
The results found in the tests
Lomelí offered an apology to those who passed the process legitimately and will have to take an evaluation again.
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“I offer an apology to the applicants who, having been fairly accepted, will be summoned to take the control exam, but it is necessary to provide certainty and guarantee equity in access,” he expressed.
The president of the Technical Commission for the Review of the 2026 Undergraduate Admission Process, Eduardo Bárzana García, explained that 158,727 applicants participated in the online exam and that the supervision system, based on artificial intelligence and human verification, allowed for the detection of prohibited behaviors, such as the use of cell phones, third-party assistance, and possible cases of identity theft.
According to the academic, about 2% of the tests were canceled due to these irregularities, while statistical analysis revealed an unusual increase in the highest scores.
According to the commission, they were able to detect that between 2021 and 2025 approximately 3.5% of applicants obtained 100 or more correct answers, while in 2026 that proportion increased to 16.3%.
Likewise, those who achieved 110 or more correct answers went from around 0.9% to 5.5%, an increase of nearly six times.
How will the new exam be conducted?
Given those results, the commission recommended summoning both those who were accepted and applicants who obtained a score equal to or higher than the minimum required to enter the same degree, campus, and modality between 2021 and 2026 for a control examination.
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The exam will be held in person and the available spots will be assigned based on the results obtained in that evaluation.
The commission stressed that the summons “does not constitute an accusation of irregular conduct,” but rather a mechanism to guarantee the objectivity, fairness, and integrity of the admission process, while investigations continue to clarify the detected failures and determine responsibilities.
The rector of the UNAM pointed out that it will be in the coming hours when the stages to be followed to carry out the exam will be detailed and assured that the university “will provide conditions of certainty and equity” so that applicants can complete the admission process to the institution in the “best conditions”.
