At a time when getting admitted to many flagship universities is harder than ever, a growing number are considering plans to increase enrollments — dramatically in some cases — of out-of-state applicants.
The theory behind these plans is straightforward: Public universities charge much more for out-of-state students; the parents who must pay those bills vote in other states, so these tuition dollars are much less politically costly than those gained by raising in-state rates; states have run out of money. Add those factors together, and all of the sudden everyone wants a larger national student body.