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<p>Not long. To raise the tuition far above the VA cohort schools (UVA, etc), would shift the most-qualified students into other schools - UVA, JMU, VT would all be far less expensive. Those forced out of those schools in-turn would likely opt for less-expensive, and less-competitive options, like ODU, Christopher Newport, etc. </p>
<p>In particular, it would shift the most qualified/most competitive students away from W&M to other schools, both in-state and OOS. With the aid offered by many private schools, those schools - even OOS - would become more affordable to those top-tier students as compared to this new tuition regime. </p>
<p>So, with the lack of highly qualified students (both IS and OOS) to fill the admissions class, admissions standards would have to slip. As the school became less selective, it would become even less attractive - and so a vicious circle sets in - yet more high-achievers divert elsewhere, and so those standards would slip further, diverting more high-achievers, etc. </p>
<p>So, we quickly arrive at a situation where we have the most expensive 2nd tier school in America, unable to fill its admissions class due to its high cost. Certainly in the short-term, some high-income earners with children with less-than-stellar credentials would pay the price, to get that prestigious name on the diploma - but the prestige of that name would dissipate quickly. </p>
<p>Soon, more dominoes fall - less-than-full admissions classes means we find the school offering courses in hair-dressing and automotive repair. Alumni giving and research grants disappear. The Wren chapel is leased out for a Starbucks. The Jamestown dorms are sold and converted to time-shares. Soon after, a developer turns the Sunken Garden into a mini-golf course. </p>
<p>And , W&M becomes the oldest university in America to go bankrupt, if only out of sheer despair.</p>
<p>Raising tuition by $8-10K, and eliminating OOS students could be called “A Modest Proposal: How to Bankrupt a College in Two Easy Steps”</p>