Is California's ban on legacy admission a positive or a negative for future college admissions?

Question

California's Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1780 into law, banning legacy and donor preferences in admissions at private and non-profit institutions which will come into effect in fall 2025. "In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work. 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.”

Answer 1

Based on the article linked, removing legacy admission will not create much change to the college admission process in California. The new legislation will affect California's private and non-profit universities and colleges for the Fall 2026 admission season, specifically, USC, Santa Clara University, and Stanford all have some of the highest admission rates of legacy students. The bill was intended to even the playing field during the admission process. The main goal being that applicants are accepted based on "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." stated California Assemblymember Ting, the author of the bill. (gov.ca.gov) The University of California and Cal State Universities have already adopted a similar policy for their admissions almost 25 years ago. However, Julio Mata, president of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling, explains this bill is purely symbolic and won't completely change the type of students receiving admission. He further explains that legacy is just another factor of admission, and some alumni and donors will hold more notability than others (cal matters) Therefore, based on these factors, I believe that this bill will not change much of the admission landscape that is currently at play. 

Comments

Nice job handling the claim which isn't clear (is X positive or negative). Good approach!

Answer 2

This information comes from NBC News, a well known news source, specifically quoting a a news release linked back to Governor Gavin Newsom's own website. On this page Newsom states exactly what's quoted in the article, outlining his push to make higher education fairer. Given that Newsom's website is an official government, page, as indicated by its .gov URL, it is already guaranteed to be a trustworthy source, with other publications using it to further spread the information. One article by Forbes says,  "In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling against race-conscious admissions, this action may have given crucial momentum to the push for merit-based admissions.." Regardless of citations the original article was also written by Char Adams, an experienced reporter for NBC news who has written for other publications such as The New York Times and Vox, reporting primarily on social issues, according to her LinkedIn. These factors all together make her a trustworthy source to be taking in this information from.

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/30/california-bans-legacy-and-donor-preferences-in-admissions-at-private-nonprofit-universities/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickhess/2024/10/09/two-cheers-for-californias-ban-on-legacy-admissions/

Answer 3

Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1780 which prohibits legacy and donor preferences in college admissions at all California universities. This bill was written by Assemblymember Phil Ting who has been working on this bill since the 2019 college admissions scandal. This bill clearly states, "This bill would prohibit, commencing September 1, 2025, an independent institution of higher education, from providing a legacy preference or donor preference in admissions, as defined, to an applicant as part of the regular or early action admissions process." This bill quickly followed up on a bill passed by the Supreme Court striking down 'race-conscious' admissions, limiting colleges from considering race in applications. This bill will help keep admissions fair in all California universities.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/california-bans-legacy-admissions-private-colleges-universities-rcna173492

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/30/california-bans-legacy-and-donor-preferences-in-admissions-at-private-nonprofit-universities/

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1780#:~:text=This%20bill%20would%20prohibit%2C%20commencing,or%20early%20action%20admissions%20process.

Answer 4

According to California bill AB-1780, starting September 1st, 2025, private universities in California will not consider a prospective students status to alumni in the admissions decision; a students admission to any private California university will be based solely on their own merit, not on the merit or donor status of their relatives. 

Overall, this bill will most likely be positive for first-generation students specifically whose parents/family members did not have the option to attend an elite college like Stanford or USC, schools which this bill will directly and most significantly affect. However, since the bill will not be in effect since the 2025 college admission season, the effects of this bill on students applying to private California universities is currently unknown.