<p>"The only way that I can legally stop paying into the system is for me to use the political process to attempt to convince the politicos in Washington to pass a law that lifts the payment mandate. Of course, I am certainly not going to hold my breath waiting for such a law to pass. "</p>
<p>Sakky, I think you have finally hit the nail on the head. If everyone on this post was a Georgia resident and we could interest the state politicos in this issue, we could each exert pressure to achieve whatever State U policies we felt were right, or even vote (directly or indirectly) to see such policies implemented. We could vote (like many on here) for unlimited OOS admissions at in-state prices if we wanted to. We could also vote (like others) to limit OOS to 5%, charge 4X the IS tuition to OOS, and (within legal bounds) set admissions policies that greatly favor poor or rural students. The fact is, GA voters today have that right, and I think the OP has simply been exercising his right to speak his mind. It’s fantastic that everyone has a point of view on this, has an opinion on what is right, but ultimately there is no “right” answer, it is a matter of what the body politic decides they want to do.</p>
<p>William & Mary as well as UVirginia should be even more selective and admit more OOS due to the fact Virginia govt has been decreasing money over the years. The OOS demand is heavy for both so they should accept more.</p>
<p>The indirect result would be to help the likes of Va Tech, James Madison, Mary Washington. They would have better student to choose from since W&M and UVirginia would be accepting fewer in state kids.</p>
<p>I became a resident of California as an undergraduate in large part because I was interested in attending a U.C. law school. I stayed in California, and have been paying a significant portion of my income in taxes to the state ever since.</p>
<p>OK. Once again, I’m not suggesting these schools reject a student with a higher GPA and standardized test scores for a student with a significantly lower GPA/test scores. I’m saying these schools need to, in a way, pander to students in that state.</p>
<p>I mean, going back to my example, if UGA got 17,000 applications, accepted 9,000, and only 4500+ attended, what about these other GA students who applied? That’s almost half your accepted applicants who did NOT go…so what about the other applicants in Georgia who applied? </p>
<p>I just think there would be a way of giving more students a chance in a situation like that. This isn’t about lowering expectations, necessarily. It’s about giving IS students whose parents pay for some of the school and who are the backbone of the school (especially in the case of Georgia and the Bulldawgs tradition) the opportunity for an education with some name-recognition.</p>
<p>Even though, I will say also, UGA isn’t that great once you leave out of the southeast. If you plan on starting your professional career in the SE, UGA, Auburn, UNC, UF, Clemson…all good schools to go to. But I doubt people in NY or Seattle or California even know about UGA.</p>
<p>Well to state my opinion, i think that there is no room for idiots in great state schools like most UCs, UMICH, Uwashington,UNC,UV, etc. I sure hope that average people are not even selected, or else high school would be pointless, and over achievers would fill classes yet have no desire to learn.</p>
Every school in the country, including Harvard, accepts more students than they can accommodate. They know that some kids will go elsewhere or make some other plans. The difference between the number accepted and the number who attend is called yield, and admissions offices forecast the yield for the coming year based on past history. In your example, UGA has a yield of about 50%, and for next year, they will probably accept the same number of students hoping for a class of the same size. (Sometimes that doesn’t happen - more students accept a place in the class than they have room for - that’s when you hear all about “forced triples” in dorms.)</p>
<p>You are confusing the number of acceptances with the number of places in the class. They are different things. I’ll bet you that in your example, UGA had room only for 4500 students (or fewer) in its freshman class.</p>
<p>I understand your general position, jaso9, but Chedva is right - there won’t be 4500 empty spaces in the entering class at UGA. In fact, they will try like anything to have 100% of places filled without going over. Letting in more students would almost certainly require an actual expansion of facilities, faculty and staff. That’s where all the other state Universities come in- at some point it becomes impractical to accommodate more students on one campus.</p>
<p>also for the OP- again, I do have some sympathy for your position in this. But another point to bring out (if it hasn’t been already) is that the situation with respect to quality and reputation do not have to remain static. I was a Virginia resident. when I went to college, UVa or W&M were the only places to go (an exception would be engineering where VaTech was also “acceptable”). James Madison was an obscure teachers’ college and George Mason was a commuter school holding classes in old warehouses and high school buildings. The situation today is much different: VaTech is a respected comprehensive U; James Madison is an increasingly well-known and respected regional U; and Geoge Mason has grown, prospered, and now has quality programs, including some that have been nationally recognized. So until things in Georgia change your way, take heart.</p>