SEATTLE (AP) — Washington parents who dream of sending their children to college someday probably are worrying about skyrocketing tuition. But lawmakers and university officials say they should turn their focus instead to the question of whether their kids will even get into a state university.
Washington state already is among the states with the fewest slots for undergraduate students at its public universities, as a percentage of its state population.
The state Office of Financial Management reports that every year more than 1,000 students don’t get accepted to any state university and decide not to go to college.
University officials say that thanks to the state budget shortfall, student access to a bachelor’s degree in Washington may be about to get even scarcer.
