The end of California legacy admissions
On Sept. 30, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1780, prohibiting legacy and donor preference admissions for private universities in California. This makes the state the second to impose this ban in both public and private higher education institutions following Maryland, with the University of California system banning legacy preferences back in 1998. Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia all also prohibit legacy admissions, but this ban only applies to public institutions.
The bill was originally pitched by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), following the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action last year, which ruled that considering race in the college application process was unconstitutional. The new bill is a further attempt to mitigate bias in the application process in California and ensure that admission results are based on merit rather than other factors of the applicant.
Six private universities and colleges in California, including popular ones such as Stanford and the University of Southern California (USC), have been known to give preferential treatment to applicants who have connections to donors and graduates. According to Ting’s website, data showed that in the 2023 admissions cycle, 1,791 students were admitted to USC through these connections, while Stanford admitted 295 students. These universities will be subject to annual reporting of specific numbers to the Legislature and the Department of Justice to ensure that they comply with the new law. If not, the bill would require the department to post the names of the institutions that violate the prohibition on its website. While the original version pitched by Ting proposed strict penalties, there are no specific punishments or fines for universities that continue to accept legacy admissions after the bill is enacted. Regardless of there being no penalties for universities, Ting believes that this bill will help ensure a more equal and inclusive college admission process and most universities have also already indicated that they would comply with the law.
Ernesto Flores, one of the three college counselors at Samo, gave his input on the ban.
“Ever since COVID, with things like the SAT and ACT, many admissions offices have been reevaluating the way they value applications and experience, so I wasn’t too surprised that something like legacy admissions would be impacted,” Flores said. “I was just at the USC conference a few weeks ago, and they were talking about how their [legacy admission] numbers have dropped significantly from low twenties to low tens, and also how they clearly see that there were people who may have been qualified but missed out on spots when building a class, so I do think that legacy admissions can impact students negatively.”
Newsom has taken other steps to improve access to higher education in California in the past. These include grants toward tuition aid for low-income students, as well as investing in college affordability for all students by supporting the development of affordable student housing and further accessibility of educational resources. Flores, who looks towards the future of college admissions with optimism, acknowledged that this bill is a significant step in an ongoing effort.
“Overall, I see more changes coming in the future, as the application system is always a continuous process,” Flores said. “It’s great for colleges to reevaluate what their practices are and try to figure out what’s the best way to then build off of those already in place and make them more clear.”
The law will take effect in Sept. of 2025.