California is the latest state to ban legacy admissions at private colleges and universities. Starting in 2025, schools will no longer be allowed to grant special consideration to applicants who are family of alumni.
The state now joins Colorado, Illinois, Virginia and Maryland, three of which passed their bans this year. Only California and Maryland ban the practice at private schools, impacting prestigious institutions like Stanford University, The University of Southern California, and Johns Hopkins University.
"I think it shows a degree of satisfaction when you have a high percentage of your alums in your student or children of alums in your student body," Greg Eichhorn, vice president of enrollment at The University of New Haven. "It's when there's a possibility that someone else should have gotten the seat over a legacy — that's when there's the challenge."
That's exactly what critics say is happening at schools all over the country.
"It's a huge issue, and it's become even more urgent since the Supreme Court's decision in the affirmative action case," Oren Sellstrom, litigation director at Lawyers for Civil Rights, said.
His group sued this summer over Harvard's practice of legacy admissions.
"There should be no unfair boost given to someone just because of their family's last name or the size of their bank account," Sellstrom said.
Sellstrom's suit and the rapid-fire bans in several key states come in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action, ruling the practice effectively discriminated against white and Asian university applicants.
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"Once affirmative action was eliminated, then it was increasingly urgent for colleges and universities to look at all of the ways that their admissions process are unfair to students of color," Sellstrom said. "We know that it is white students that overwhelmingly benefit from these unfair and undeserved preferences."
A Harvard spokesperson told Scripps News the university can't comment on an ongoing lawsuit.
There have been federal efforts to curb legacy admissions, too. While bipartisan legislation hasn't yet passed a Senate committee, it's a strong signal of what's to come for legacy admissions.
For Eichhorn, now is the time to change how universities approach kids of alumni.
"It's no surprise when they're going to college," he said. "Work with them before the application process, throughout high school, especially the latter years, to make sure that they are the most qualified for that individual seat."
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