In the late 60s (68 as you can tell by my 72 user name) I started at VT. On one of the "big" orentation meetings a guy got up and of course at that time the first cheer was the projected year of graduation so the hall echoed with "72". As soon as things quieted down his first response was something like 72? maybe. Look to your left, to your right, in front and behind. At least one or more of those 4 won't be there with you to be the Class of 72, o maybe it's you that won't be there.

The point was well understood, we were not at UVA where they essentially culled hundreds of potential students who could have done just fine in favor of fewer chances (or so they thought) of students not being there on graduation day. VT gave way more people a chance including a chance to fail.

By the time I attended orientations with the next generation, there was not a dimes worth of difference in admissions vs UVA. Both then and now hundreds of in state kids who can are culled in favor of a so called stronger student body. We (VT) now brag about who we keep out just like UVA has always done.

I dislike the change and think that as a Land Grant University, giving in state kids more of a chance is part of who we are supposed to be. If we needed to double undergraduate numbers to allow those chances, we should have and still should do it. Some of the university's biggest benefactors came from the group that would not be allowed in today.

I like the idea of being judged not by who we keep out or how big some classes must be to accomodate who we have but on the quality of the graduate.