The End of Legacy College Admissions

If you are following the shifting rules of college applications, you have likely noticed a massive change regarding legacy admissions. For decades, having a parent or grandparent who attended an elite university gave applicants a distinct advantage. Now, intense legal battles and changing social expectations are forcing many of the nation’s top schools to abandon this practice completely.

What Are Legacy Admissions?

Let us start by defining exactly what we are talking about. Legacy admissions refer to the practice of giving preference to college applicants who are related to alumni of that specific institution. Historically, this meant an applicant checking a box on the Common App to indicate their mother, father, or grandparents walked the same campus.

This was not a minor advantage. Data revealed during recent lawsuits showed that legacy applicants at Ivy League schools like Harvard were nearly six times more likely to be admitted compared to non-legacy applicants with similar academic profiles. For decades, highly selective colleges defended the practice, arguing it built strong alumni communities and encouraged charitable donations.

The Catalyst: The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling

The major turning point for legacy preferences arrived in June 2023. The Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision. Almost immediately, the focus of the public and legal groups turned toward legacy admissions.

Critics argued that if universities could no longer consider race to build a diverse class, they should not be allowed to consider family alumni connections either. These connections predominantly benefit wealthy, white applicants. Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, a civil rights group filed a formal complaint against Harvard with the Department of Education, claiming that legacy and donor preferences violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This complaint argued that giving a boost to the children of alumni unfairly disadvantages applicants of color.

State Laws Stepping In

Lawmakers are not waiting for the Department of Education to finish its federal investigations. State governments are aggressively passing laws to outright ban the practice. In September 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1780. This landmark law prohibits private, nonprofit colleges in California from giving admission preferences to applicants based on their connections to alumni or donors.

This directly impacts highly selective schools like Stanford University, the University of Southern California (USC), and Santa Clara University. California is not the first state to take legislative action, but it is one of the most significant due to the sheer number of elite private institutions within its borders.

Before California took action, other states had already begun shutting down legacy preferences. Colorado was the pioneer, banning the practice for public universities in 2021. Virginia quickly followed suit in early 2024. The Virginia law ensures that public universities like the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech can no longer offer a legacy bump. Maryland and Illinois have also passed similar legislation affecting their public college systems. The trend is clear: state legislatures are viewing legacy preferences as an unfair barrier to equal opportunity in higher education.

Elite Universities Leading the Change

While some schools are being forced by state law to change, others made the decision voluntarily years ago. Johns Hopkins University quietly ended legacy admissions back in 2014. University President Ronald Daniels reported that after dropping the preference, the percentage of legacy students in incoming classes dropped from 8.5% to under 2%, while the percentage of first-generation and low-income students increased significantly.

MIT and Caltech have famously never considered legacy status in their admissions processes. More recently, highly selective liberal arts schools like Amherst College and Wesleyan University announced they were officially ending legacy preferences. Carnegie Mellon University also confirmed it no longer considers alumni connections when reviewing applications.

The Impact on Donor Relations

One of the main arguments universities historically used to defend legacy admissions was financial. The idea was that admitting the children of alumni encouraged those alumni to donate money. These donations fund scholarships, new buildings, and academic programs.

However, studies are beginning to show that this fear might be overblown. When schools like Texas A&M and Johns Hopkins dropped their legacy preferences, their fundraising numbers did not crash. Furthermore, California’s new law targets donor preferences directly, meaning schools like USC cannot legally favor the children of major financial contributors in the admissions office, regardless of the potential financial gain.

What This Means for Future Applicants

For current high school students filling out the Common Application, the college admissions process looks different than it did just two years ago. Many schools have completely removed the question asking where an applicant’s parents went to college. If the question is still there, it is often gathered strictly for demographic research after the admission decision has been made. Applicants now need to rely entirely on their own academic records, extracurricular activities, and personal essays.

Transparency in the admissions process is becoming the new standard. California’s law requires universities to report their compliance to the state annually. If a school violates the ban, they must publicly disclose the violation, naming the specific demographic details of the students admitted under those preferences. This public shaming mechanism is designed to keep university admissions officers honest. Families applying to college can expect clear-cut admissions criteria and less hidden weight given to family lineage.

The Future of Federal Legislation

There is also growing momentum at the federal level. Lawmakers in Washington D.C. have introduced bipartisan bills aimed at ending legacy admissions nationwide. The proposed Merit-Based Educational Allocation Act seeks to amend the Higher Education Act to prohibit any college participating in federal student aid programs from giving preferential treatment to legacy applicants. If this bill or a similar one passes, it would effectively end the practice at nearly every college and university in the United States, as almost all rely on federal financial aid systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is a legacy applicant? A legacy applicant is a prospective college student who has a family member, usually a parent or grandparent, who graduated from the university they are applying to.

Which states have banned legacy admissions? As of late 2024, states that have banned legacy admissions include Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, and California. The rules vary by state, with some applying only to public schools and others applying to private universities as well.

Do Ivy League schools still use legacy admissions? Yes, several Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton still consider legacy status as part of their admissions process. However, they are currently facing intense public pressure and federal civil rights complaints urging them to stop.

Does the end of legacy admissions also end donor preferences? In some cases, yes. The California law signed in September 2024 specifically bans both legacy preferences and donor preferences, meaning universities in the state cannot give an advantage to the children of major financial contributors.