Banning Legacy Admissions: The New State-Level Push for College Equity

Getting into a top college is harder than ever. For decades, the children of alumni held a hidden advantage in the admissions process. Now, lawmakers are actively dismantling this system. A growing number of states are passing strict laws to forbid public and private universities from prioritizing applicants just because their parents attended the school.

The Catalyst for the Anti-Legacy Movement

The push to end legacy admissions is not entirely new, but it gained massive momentum in the summer of 2023. When the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in college admissions, a spotlight immediately turned to other preferential admission practices. Critics argued that if colleges could no longer consider race to help historically marginalized groups, they should not be allowed to consider family ties to help historically privileged applicants.

Legacy admissions disproportionately benefit wealthy, white applicants. According to data released by Harvard University during the affirmative action trial, legacy applicants were nearly six times more likely to be admitted than non-legacy applicants.

With federal action stalling, individual states decided to take matters into their own hands. State legislatures are now introducing and passing bills to level the playing field for first-generation and low-income students.

States Actively Banning Legacy Preferences

Several states have successfully turned anti-legacy proposals into law. The rules vary slightly from state to state, with some targeting only public tax-funded universities and others extending the ban to private institutions.

Colorado: The Early Adopter

Colorado was the first state to take a stand against legacy admissions. In 2021, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 21-1173 into law. This legislation explicitly prohibits the governing boards of state-supported higher education institutions from considering legacy status or familial relationships during the admissions process.

Because Colorado acted before the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, the state set an early precedent. Public schools like the University of Colorado Boulder must evaluate applicants based strictly on their own academic and personal achievements.

Virginia: A Bipartisan Victory

In March 2024, Virginia made headlines by passing a legacy ban with unanimous bipartisan support. Governor Glenn Youngkin signed legislation (Senate Bill 48 and House Bill 48) that forbids public universities in the state from giving preferential treatment to students related to alumni or donors.

This law impacts highly competitive public institutions like the University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary. Interestingly, Virginia lawmakers agreed across party lines that tax dollars should not support a system that favors well-connected families. The ban took effect on July 1, 2024.

Maryland: Crossing into Private Education

Maryland took the ban a step further in April 2024. Governor Wes Moore signed House Bill 4. This law not only bans legacy preferences at public universities but also applies to private colleges that receive state funding.

This was a massive shift because it forced prestigious private institutions like Johns Hopkins University to comply. Johns Hopkins actually phased out legacy admissions voluntarily in 2014, but the new state law ensures that other private schools in Maryland must follow suit.

California: Targeting the Wealthy Private Schools

California has forbidden legacy admissions at public universities for a long time. The University of California (UC) system eliminated the practice back in 1998. However, private schools in the state continued the practice for decades.

That changed in September 2024 when Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1780. Starting in September 2025, all private colleges and universities in California are banned from considering alumni connections or donor relationships in admissions. This directly impacts highly selective schools like Stanford University, the University of Southern California (USC), and Santa Clara University. Under the new law, schools that violate the ban will have their names published on a public state website, publicly shaming them for non-compliance.

The Future of College Admissions

The state-level push is far from over. Lawmakers in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have recently proposed similar bills. In Massachusetts, proposed legislation would go as far as taxing wealthy private colleges that continue to use legacy preferences, using the penalty funds to support community colleges.

Colleges are adapting to this new reality. Admissions offices are placing more weight on standardized test scores, high school GPA, extracurricular activities, and personal essays. For high school students applying to college over the next few years, this means a fairer process. A student without college-educated parents now competes on a slightly more even playing field against students from families with deep university ties.

While legacy bans cannot solve all inequities in higher education, education advocates view them as a necessary first step. Removing birthright advantages forces universities to look closer at the actual merits of the student applying.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is a legacy admission? Legacy admission is a practice where a college gives a preferential advantage to an applicant whose parent or grandparent attended that specific institution.

Does the federal government ban legacy admissions? No. Currently, there is no federal law banning legacy admissions. While federal lawmakers have introduced bills like the Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act, none have passed into law.

Will banning legacy admissions affect college fundraising? Some private universities argue that legacy admissions encourage alumni to donate money, which helps fund scholarships for lower-income students. However, researchers at institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (which does not use legacy admissions) have found no evidence that ending legacy preferences significantly hurts a school’s overall fundraising efforts.

Do these state laws ban donor preferences too? Yes, most of the new state laws bundle legacy preferences and donor preferences together. States like Virginia and California explicitly forbid schools from prioritizing the children of people who make large financial contributions to the university.