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Far more slots are reserved for Virginia residents than out-of-state students at W&M. By law, its student body consists of 65 percent Virginia residents and 35 percent from OOS. While it’s true that Virginia provides millions of dollars to W&M each year, it’s also true that state funding covers less than 13 percent of the school’s annual costs - a percentage that has been decreasing steadily each year (down from 42 percent in 1980: [William</a> & Mary -*An Overview of William & Mary’s Financials](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/senioradmin/financeoffice/budgetinfo/financialsataglance/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/senioradmin/financeoffice/budgetinfo/financialsataglance/index.php) )</p>
<p>If fewer OOS students attended, in-state students would have to pay more to cover the difference, or Virginia taxpayers would have to provide more funding to cover the difference, or both. Or the school would have to cut programs, faculty, resources, and quality to cover the difference, which would make it a far less attractive option to instate students and decrease the value of an important Virginia asset.</p>