<p>I’m looking forward to hearing what W&M’s new President Nichol has to say about public education. W&M is a great school. Unfortunately, its small endowment will be a hindrance in its goal to offer affordable education for all citizens. It would be cool if they were able to offer something similar to AccessUVA. They have to definitely beef up their fundraising.</p>
<p>UVA is not going private. UVA justs wants more autonomy when it comes to controlling its own destiny. Jefferson intended the University of Virginia to be a public institution, and it will remain so. Granted, there are schools at UVA (i.e. the Law School and Darden) which are self-sufficient and require no funding from the state, but I don’t think UVA as a whole wants to counter Jefferson’s mandate of being one of the premier public universities in America. Going against Jefferson’s wishes is blasphemy at his University.</p>
<p>It’s true that at many colleges financial aid and scholarships are used as recruiting tools to win over students, and many of these students are as you say “advantaged.” But that’s the beauty of AccessUVA. If you’re smart enough to be admitted to UVA and you’re eligible for the aid offered by the program, then you as a financially disadvantaged student will benefit from it.</p>