Tyson Felder

English 1101
Professor Hughes
4-11-2016
Should public universities neglect in-state students more?
Im sorry to inform you, but you havent been accepted to our university. This is the letter I
received after waiting two weeks to hear back from my dream school. It was March 13th 2014
and I was in class 7th period to be exact when a hall monitor brought in the mail. I was so eager
to read the letter so then I opened it to see that I wasnt accepted. This left me devastated because
it was the right area (in state) so the cost would be cheaper on top of the fact thats where my
friend was going as well. School is something that you go to all your life with dreams of
eventually getting that college degree. You start off in elementary school where you learn the
basics of life really. Then you move on to middle school where you start to hear about college
vaguely, but you still hear about it. Then high school, yes high school is the time where you
really have to start narrowing down that college dream. Fortunately, your college is in the state,
so you apply and wait for what feels like forever, but only takes about two months which seems
like a long time but really isnt. You open the letter and you see youve been denied. Well this
makes you wonder What did I do wrong? Ive exceeded all the stated requirements and I even
had a few accolades that set me apart. In the New York Times Debate Are Public Universities
Neglecting In-state Students? Hans Johnson, Margurite Roza, and Ozan Jaquette discuss why
flagship universities have decreased them in-state acceptance Ultimately, however, the more
important question is should they? Well according to Forbes, of course there are two sides to
every story.

Neglecting In-state Students

Out-of-state proponents claim that public universities began accepting more students from out of
state as they sought to build a more diverse and talented student population (Jaquette). Critics
disagree, however, and according to the Forbes, students at the University of Illinois last year,
fully 27% of its freshman came from out-of-state. That was up from 19% just five years
ago. Similarly, the University of Washington had an entering class in 2010 of 27% out-ofstaters. This too was up from 19% just three years earlier. The University of Virginia tries to
maintain a student body comprised of 30% out-of-state students. But last year it edged up to
over 33%. And the University of Michigan is up to 40% out-of-staters, compared with 37% five
years ago (2011). This shows how even the most well-known universities have leaned towards
accepting more out of state students. According to the Washington Post Forty-three of the 50
schools known as state flagships enrolled a smaller share of freshmen from within their states
in 2014 than they had a decade earlier, federal data show (2014). When a student hears this,
they become scared and enraged, especially if their dream school was in state. Now, with that in
mind lets look at the other side of the story as to why these public colleges are accepting so
many out of state students.
The Diversity (college)
Diversity promotes creative thinking. It does so by teaching you how to view the world in an
expanded viewpoint and consider multiple options instead of viewing it in one single lens (US
News). Diversity also enriches the multiple perspectives (Us News). Diversity in the workforce
fosters innovation and competitiveness in business. According to the Center for American
Progress in a survey taken 85% of the contestants said diversity is crucial and needed in the

workplace. This shows that diversity is very important to society as a whole so it defiantly should
be important in the college because its a direct pipeline to the job market.
As a proposed compromise college should have to pay a tax the out of state students almost like
American does on imports from other countries. While not adding any cost to the out of state
students it would add taxes to the school in which can be used to offset the cost of the in state
students. There will be a taxed based off of the cost of the schools tuition before scholarships
grants so the rate will be fixed. Then in turn the in state students must pay a processing or in state
fee once a semester just to ensure they will be returning to the university. The price of that will
be based solely off the income of their parents/ guardian or if they are the sole proprietor then it
will be based off their income. If they have no income there will be a waiver sheet that will be
reviewed by admissions and the dean of students, then processed and returned in two weeks.
Furthermore, college is something everybody thinks about but most cant afford on their own.
When you have your dream college in state and its affordable you almost think its too good to
be true. Diversity, something that is very important and this is why colleges tend to accept these
students to better prepare their students as a whole while. Maybe if both sides came together to
the proposed compromise then there could be a happy medium when it comes to in state and out
of state students.

Works Cited
Anderson, Nick, and Danielle Douglas-Gabriel. "Nation's Prominent Public Universities Are
Shifting to Out-of-state Students." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 14
Apr. 2016.
Hyman, Jermery S., and Lynn F. Jacobs12. "Why Does Diversity at College Matter
Anyway?" US News. U.S. News & World Report, 12 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Johnson, Hans, Margurite Roza, and Ozan Jaquette. "Are Public Universities Neglecting in State
Students." New York Times. New York Times, 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Mckenna, Laura. "The Allure of out of State Students." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company,
5 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.