California bans legacy admissions in all colleges, universities

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California has become the fourth state to ban legacy admissions in the college application process, a practice that has long been criticized as favoring white or wealthy students based on their familial alumni connections.

"In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Monday statement. "The California Dream shouldn't be accessible to just a lucky few, which is why we're opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, fairly."

The decision affects private and nonprofit universities. The University of California system eliminated legacy admission preferences in 1998, according to Newsom's office.

Legacy admissions have come under heightened scrutiny following the Supreme Court's decision to limit race-based affirmative action programs for colleges and universities in June 2023. California law had banned affirmative action in 1996.

"In light of this shift, proponents of AB 1780 advocated for admissions criteria that additionally ensure that factors like wealth or personal relationships do not unduly influence admissions decisions," the governor's office said in a statement.

The majority of Americans -- 75% of those surveyed in a April 2022 Pew Research study -- believe a student's relationship to an alumni should not be a factor in admissions.

"AB 1780 aims to ensure that admissions decisions are based on merit rather than personal connections - reducing biases in the admissions process at private colleges in California," the governor's office said.

All private colleges and universities in California must now submit an annual report to ensure compliance.

Research has shown that legacy applicants are admitted at higher rates, but are not more qualified or academically superior applicants. They are also a less racially diverse population.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Colorado-Boulder analyzed 16 years of data from an unnamed elite university in a September 2022 study released in the journal American Sociological Review.

It found that 34.2% of legacy applicants were admitted, compared to 13.9% of non-legacy applicants -- most of them white, and most of them wealthier than their counterparts. These students are from ZIP codes with higher mean incomes and are less likely to apply for financial aid with their application, the study said. They are also flagged by the school as having high donor potential.

An analysis from the Institute for Higher Education Policy in 2021 found that 53% of selective four-year colleges consider legacy status in their admissions decisions.

California joins Colorado, Maryland and Virginia in banning these practices, reinforcing bans that hundreds of colleges have already implemented.