@lookingforward a single student is one too many. You’re missing the point.
Does UVA have a ceiling for NOVA students? I’ve not heard that before.
A lot of aid really comes from tuition, not endowment. UVA and W&M now have something closer to high tuition, high aid models that private schools employ. Full pay students, whose payment exceeds cost of education, fund aid.
Endowments are typically very unevenly spread, and a lot of it is restricted. At UVA, the school of medicine, with relatively few students, has about 30% of the endowment. Arts and Sciences, which has nearly 60% of the students has much, much less.
One of the reasons UVA can meet aid is likely that it has relatively affluent students on average. They don’t need as much aid. UNC can meet aid because the state puts a lot more money into it than Virginia, keeping costs lower.
The $2B or so that UVA “found” likely mostly came from the accrued medical center surpluses (patient fees). The medical center is half of the overall budget and unlike the academic part, it has been running a surplus.