TO THE EDITOR:
As an out-of-state student and an assistant at our admissions office, I am deeply disgruntled by J.K. Pettit's ignorant letter to the editor. (In-state students should be given more priority"" April 1.)
Pettit's argument that UNC should be restricted to Carolinians and that out-of-state students hinder their admission fails on every level.
The issue that competition for out-of-state spots is greater than for resident spots is not a debatable opinion — it's a fact.
UNC-Chapel Hill's in-state acceptance rate is around 50 percent; for out-of-state students, it is approximately 20 percent.
Clearly out-of-state students are at a glaring disadvantage when applying to this school.
Pettit also implies that non-resident students somehow rob the good taxpayers of this state. But unless a nonresident receives a hefty sum of financial aid, the amount he doesn't pay in taxes is more than made up for by his tuition rate.
And the argument that real"" Tar Heels are getting denied in favor of us ""Yankees"" is ridiculous" not to mention unnecessarily rude.
Because the bar is set higher for out-of-state students there are in reality many more higher qualified out-of-state applicants who are denied admission because of a state charter requiring UNC-Chapel Hill to reserve 82 percent of its first-year seats for North Carolina residents.
Our University of the people was meant to be inclusive not exclusive and out-of-state students boost its diversity its funds and its academic ranking.
All qualified students deserve a chance to attend UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heel bred or not.
Olga Kuzmina
First-year
Political science European studies