Reply to UVA and in-state stats and laws on required numbers

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well, actually, we do.  Saw this in the other thread about the complaints about insufficient in-state slots for Virginians.

1. The groans and lamentations are higher here because of the higher income, higher educated population here, many of whom were higher achieving folks from other states who went to a prestigious private or the public flagship back home.

2. However, states are different. Is the model of having one superlarge flagship (Ohio, Illinois, etc.) and a few directionals better? Or the California model, where Cal was originally the model flagship but time and USNWR has sent UCLA, UCSB and UCSD up into the rankings)? Or the most common model of having 2 strong schools and directionals for everyone else (Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Indiana, etc.)?

We faced that choice moving here from outside the DMV when looking at Maryland vs Virginia. Yes, on the whole, UMCP is the functional equivalent of the combined UVA/VT/W&M, when considered overall, it's a solid B+ across the board. But each individual Virginia institution in the UVA/VT/W&M troika has its own very strong pros that more than offset the cons of each school. Plus we did not want a "UMCP or bust" situation (with "bust" being UMBC, Towson, Salisbury, etc.). Virginia is lucky that JMU/VCU/GMU exist, and we don't have to immediately settle for Radford.

3. Reputation and market changed. 40 years ago, UVA/VT/W&M took more NOVA applicants. This can be seen in the number of NOVA students in the UVA entering class falling from 50% to 30% in the last 3-4 years, for example. But back then UVA/VT/W&M were more regional, although they were still known outside the East Coast. Now those brands are stronger outside the region, and it is harder for NOVA applicants to get in. Yet with the NOVA students increasingly looking for broader opportunities outside the region, and the number of spaces at UVA/VT/W&M not growing to meet that demand, NOVA families have to look outside Virginia for that T100 brand. Either that, or accept that JMU/GMU/VCU will provide a good education if not supplying the requisite branding for competing outside the region.

4. Thus, we as NOVA parents want the UVA/VT/W&M of our youth, where everyone from NOVA was more likely to get in. But the old days weren't as good as we remember, and the world changed. Now are faced either with taking our chances with an increasingly more difficult admissions system for UVA/VT/W&M, saving up for T100 elsewhere, including flagships in other states, or accepting JMU/GMU/VCU as good alternatives (and they are). That doesn't make it fair, and it doesn't make it easy for donut hole families who can't come up with the extra money to send the DCs out of the area. But this is not going to change, so we need to adapt. Plus I would rather have the choices in Virginia when compared with other states.

+1000
[/quote]

This. Case closed. [/quote]

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