B3 My wife and I have five children, the oldest just turning 13. As we consider their educational futures, we can only wonder about their chances of getting into one of Virginia's top public colleges or universities. As a Virginia state legislator, I know too well that the battle can be uphill. For the fact is that, at several of our most renowned schools, nearly a third or more of the places in every freshman class go to students from out of state. Every year, I am asked by a number of constituents to write letters of recommendation for their children as they go about the arduous task of applying to one or more of Virginia's nationally ranked universities.
Competition is ever fiercer for fewer slots.
Applications to all of our premier institutions of higher learning continue to outpace the schools' ability to accept the large number of qualified Virginia high school graduates who apply for admission. According to figures provided by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, applications at the College of William and Mary have increased 20 percent over the past five years, but for some reason, the number of acceptances actually declined by 1 percent. At Virginia Tech, applications are up 24 percent, but the number of acceptances also has declined 1 percent. In 1993, during my first session in the General Assembly, Del. Ford Quillen. Although the bill failed, I found myself intrigued by the issue of access to Virginia's schools and troubled by the increasing difficulty our residents faced in gaining admission to them.