A new law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September prohibits private colleges in California from giving preferential admission to students who come from alums or donors. This bill was signed into law to help make the college admission process more fair and deal with issues from the College Admission Scandal, also known as Varsity Blues, that was involved with private colleges in California such as USC and Stanford. This is one of the main reasons why this new law was being heavily pushed. This law will take effect in September 2025, which gives colleges time to review their admission policies. Let’s look at the pros and cons of this bill and the college’s reactions.

Countless people support the bill, saying that it will help level the playing field. On the other hand, it will be hard to regulate and punish the college for many reasons. All colleges self-report their data, which would make it hard for the government to punish colleges for admitting students via a student’s connection to alumni and donors. Many colleges also may not care what the law says due to the benefits of getting donations. Others argue that the legacy or donor admits are not as common as most people think. Many legacy students need to be more memorable to beat out other applicants. Numerous people also argue that private colleges need funding, and they need to admit students who are connected to people who will donate back to their colleges. It is a complicated situation, and both sides make good points to consider when forming an opinion.

Plenty of people have openly shared their opinions on the topic. A senior at Oakland Tech High School shared his view that students should not be allowed solely based on their parents but rather on their capabilities. A Stanford Alumni shared that he is happy the law is helping to end systematic racism. Still, on the other hand, he would want his daughter to get into Stanford after all the hard work he did to get into as a senior from a poor African American family. A USC spokesperson said they always look at students from a holistic point of view that helps to understand the whole student. A Stanford law professor, who founded the Stanford Center for Racial Justice, said he understands the unfairness of legacy admissions. Still, he also understands how difficult it is for private colleges to get funding without donor admissions. There are many complex ideas and opinions on the subject, but the overall message is that the law is coming into effect, and colleges have to adjust quickly.