California banned college legacy admissions. Will it change who enters?

“Despite the unfairness of legacy preferences, private universities should be allowed to rely on them because they are absolutely fundamental to the fundraising model on which universities depend,” said Banks, founder of the Stanford Center for Racial Justice, in an interview on the Stanford website.

Asked how he thought private colleges should respond to the law, he said they probably shouldn’t bother.

“I don’t know that universities should challenge the ban because there’s no basis to enforce it,” Banks said. “The law simply provides for a kind of moral shaming of universities, as those who break the law will have that fact publicized by the government.”

Adrian Navarro, a college and career counselor at Oakland Technical High School, said he was happy to hear about the law because “anything that opens up opportunities for our students, for different communities, is great.”

“I felt like the Varsity Blues scandal was swept under the rug,” Navarro said. “It’s gratifying to see some action for students who, because of historical inequalities, don’t have the benefit of rich parents.”

Students would have been admitted anyway

Although they fought the bill, some private colleges said they would comply with the law and that it would make no difference to their admissions process because all their students meet the admissions criteria anyway. In general, admissions criteria for private schools are based on a number of factors, including academic performance, leadership skills, ability to overcome challenges, and how a student can benefit from the opportunities of a specific school

Still, six of California’s 90 private nonprofit colleges said they admit hundreds of students a year based on alumni or donor connections, according to information they provided to the been In fall 2023, USC admitted 1,791 students with alumni or donor ties. Stanford admitted 295. Santa Clara University admitted 38, but the year before that number was 1,133. Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College and Northeastern University in Oakland also admitted at least one student with donor or alumni ties.

These schools also note that they admit large numbers of students who are the first in their families to attend college, and are committed to building diverse student bodies despite last year’s Supreme Court ruling banning the ‘affirmative action.

“All admitted students meet our high academic standards through a contextualized holistic review that values ​​each student’s lived experience, considers how they will contribute to the vitality of our campus, thrive in our community, benefit from a USC and will fulfill the commitments of our unification. values,” USC spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett said in an email.

Richard Turner, a Stanford graduate who lives in Piedmont in the East Bay, said he was upset when affirmative action ended because he believes racism remains a systemic problem in America, but he had mixed feelings when it ended inherited admissions. As an African-American parent, he hoped his daughters would benefit from one, if not both policies.

“Legacy admissions perpetuate privilege,” said Turner, a physician. “But on the other hand, we all know that connections are vitally important. Would I have used every advantage I have to enroll my daughters? Yes, I absolutely would.”

Neither of his daughters ended up at Stanford, which disappointed him. But both did well at their chosen schools, he said.

“It has to be fair”

Daniel Alfaro, a senior at Oakland Tech High School, said he’s glad the state stopped supporting the legacy. Colleges should admit students based only on their abilities, he said, “not on who their parents are.”

Alfaro’s own parents can’t help him much with his college applications. Immigrants from Latin America, they work long hours, have limited English skills, and don’t have much education. But they have always encouraged him to study hard and pursue higher studies.

Alfaro said he looks forward to making them proud. This year he is taking three advanced classes, plays two sports and is studying French, economics and political science at a local university. He is also active in the Latino Student Union and the Key Club. He often stays up until 3 a.m. studying to maintain a nearly perfect grade point average.

“Education is a privilege,” said Alfaro, who hopes to study biotechnology or kinesiology in college. “I feel like for my family, they’ve made so many sacrifices so we could go to college. So for me, it all comes down to this moment. And it should be fair.”