WASHINGTON — Northern Virginians applying to state colleges and universities should be concerned about being rejected in favor of an out-of-state student with similar credentials, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said.
When asked on WTOP’s Ask the Governor Wednesday whether Virginia high schoolers should be worried that an out-of-state student with a similar profile would be taken over them, McAuliffe said “absolutely, and not only worried, it’s just factual.”
“Some [schools] are a third to 40 percent out-of-staters because they pay so much more tuition, and that’s how they balance their budgets, so yes they should be concerned and that’s something we need to look at,” McAuliffe said.
A number of Virginia colleges and universities did not respond to requests for comment, while others pointed to state statistics showing that a higher percentage of in-state applicants than out-of-state applicants were accepted.
Leaders of public universities elsewhere in the country have said increased revenue from out-of-state tuition has helped keep in-state costs down, The Daily Progress reports.
What the numbers show
Last year, in-state students made up 72 percent of University of Virginia’s student body. According to the latest available data from the State Council of Higher Education, 44 percent of the 9,104 in-state, first-year applicants were accepted to U.Va. for the 2014-15 school year. Of those accepted, 63.3 percent, or 2,537, chose to enroll at the school.
For out-of-state students, U.Va. accepted 22.9 percent of its 21,970 applicants. Of those accepted, 24.1 percent, or 1,214 students, enrolled at the school.
Virginia Tech accepted 68.1 percent of the 11,801 in-state freshman applicants for the 2014-15 school year, and 47.8 percent, or 3,848, of those accepted chose to enroll.
For out-of-state, Virginia Tech accepted more than 78 percent of its 9,024 applicants, with 24.1 percent of those applicants, or 1,714, deciding to enroll in the school.
George Mason University accepted 68 percent of the 10,141 in-state, first-year students who applied for the 2014-15, with 34.6 percent them, 2,386, choosing to enroll.
The school accepted 64.9 percent of the 12,839 out-of-state freshman applicants last year, but only 10.2 percent of those accepted, 848, chose to enroll there.
The state statistics show James Madison University accepted 63.4 percent of its 13,455 in-state freshman applicants in the 2014-15 school year, and that 36.5 percent of those accepted enrolled.
For out-of-state students, JMU accepted 69.3 percent of its 9,146 applicants, but only 20.2 percent of those out-of-state students accepted ended up enrolling at the school.
The College of William & Mary says its acceptance rate has hovered between 41 and 45 percent for in-state students, and 25 to 28 percent for out-of-state students in recent years.
