California's New Law Ends 'Legacy' Admissions In Universities: What This Means For Future Students

California has banned the legacy admission to private universities and colleges in the state. Governor Gavin Newson signed a law to put a stop to legacy preferences at private universities where the children of alumni and donors were given preference in the admission process. According to The Guardian report, the new law aims to address the growing concerns about equity in college admissions. The legislation which is set to be effective in September 2025 will impact some of the USA’s renowned institutions including Stanford University and the University of Southern California.

With the new legislation, California has become the fifth state to end legacy admissions following Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia and Maryland. The law draws attention to the fact that connections with alumni of colleges and universities and wealth influence the admissions decisions at elite schools.

The law banning the preference admission after the Supreme Court’s verdict barring both private and public universities from considering race as a factor in college admissions. The legal battles surrounding racially-based “affirmative action” have highlighted the various advantages white students receive from non-racially-coded admissions practices, especially “legacy” admissions, which have been labelled as “affirmative action for the wealthy” by the media.

Democratic state assembly member Phil Ting asserted that student should earn their spot in the institute based on their grades and academic background and not their wealth and influence of family at the schools, reported The Guardian. “Hard work, good grades and a well-rounded background should earn you a spot in the incoming class – not the size of the check your family can write or who you’re related to,” said Ting, who authored the legislation.

The law will ban admissions offices from “favouring applicants whose family members are graduates of or are significant donors to the school”, which Ting’s office called an “unfair practice often results in a wealthier, less racially diverse student body”, reported The Guardian.

The practice of prioritizing applicants with family connections and wealthy backgrounds has been heavily criticised across the US and the admission process is being scrutinized on several fronts. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation into claims that Harvard’s admissions process “discriminates based on race by utilizing donor and legacy preferences in its undergraduate admissions.”