A restriction on legacy admissions at private universities is reportedly now imminent in California.
In California, private colleges and universities are prohibited from considering an applicant’s family or other connections to a school by a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate affirmative action, California has joined other states in reducing legacy admissions.
Private colleges in the state, including Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and the California Institute of Technology, will now be obligated to submit an annual report that discloses their compliance with the new law.
The ban is intended to prevent the influence of personal connections or affluence on admissions decisions.
Specifically, it addresses the advantage that certain applicants receive when applying to selective institutions and universities to which their parents contributed funds or from which they graduated.
Legacy and donor preferences are frequently cited as examples of the preferences that prospective students are granted by Ivy League institutions.
In the 2022-23 academic year, the National Center for Education Statistics, a nonpartisan research agency of the Education Department, reported that nearly 600 colleges and universities were considering legacy status in their admissions processes.
According to critics, legacy admissions discriminate against applicants of color and disproportionately benefit students who are both affluent and white.
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