Los Angeles

California to ban legacy admissions: In elite US colleges and universities, children or relatives of top-shot politicians, celebrities, rich donors and alumni could get admission just on the basis of who they were born into. Slowly, that's changing, with California becoming the fifth state to ban the so-called 'legacy admissions.'

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"In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work," Governor Gavin Newsom said after signing the relevant bill into law. "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."

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Phil Ting, the Democratic state legislator who wrote the bill, said "hard work, good grades and a well-rounded background should earn you a spot in the incoming class – not the size of the cheque your family can write or who you’re related to.” 

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These backdoor entries into Ivy League institutions happen even as millions of students take entrance tests and pay student loans years after coming out of colleges and universities. 

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The legacy admission bans in several states come in the wake of the US Supreme Court cracking down on race-based admissions under affirmative action. The apex court asked private and public universities not to consider race as a factor in college admissions, in a decision seen by critics as targeting mainly Black students. That case put the spotlight on how white students were getting into colleges and universities through practices like legacy admissions, which was being seen as affirmative action for rich kids.

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The bill signed by Governor Newsom applies not only the public educational institutions but also to private and nonprofit ones. It will come into effect from September 2025.

Before California, the midwestern state of Illinois passed a bill to ban such legacy admissions. Maryland and Virginia banned legacy admissions earlier this year. Colorado was the first to pass such a bill, in 2021.  

How bad is legacy admission practice in California?

Data showed that six California colleges and universities gave preferential treatment to candidates related to graduates and donors in the Fall of 2023. 

Topping the list was the University of Southern California, which admitted 1,791 students in that category. Another hallowed institution, Stanford University, admitted 295 students under this stream and Santa Clara University took in 38 students. 

The new rule is expected to create a level playing field for admission to some of the most sought-after educational institutions in the world.

(With inputs from agencies)