Legacy Admissions Facing the Ax: Here Are All of the States Spearheading Bans

Last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ban on race-conscious admissions stoked fears in the higher education world that the decision would further exclude marginalized students from college.

And so advocates for these students, in an attempt to neutralize some fallout from the opinion, turned attention to admissions practices that favor white and wealthy applicants. One of their prime targets: legacy preferences.

These longstanding policies offer an admissions advantage to alumni’s relatives, but research shows they overwhelmingly favor affluent applicants, particularly among prestigious private institutions.

The sentiment on legacy admissions has soured at the federal level. Notably, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the U.S. government in the race-conscious admissions case, suggested it would be amenable to the high court striking down legacy admissions. A bipartisan bill emerged in Congress, too, that would banish the practice.

But much of the war against legacy admissions has been waged in statehouses.

Colorado in 2021 became the first state to forbid legacy preferences among its public colleges. While a few bills have popped up in other states since, this year has seen a flurry of legislative proposals — many of which seem likely to pass.

The Supreme Court decision is indeed fueling much of this push, though states should have banned legacy preferences long ago, James Murphy, deputy director of higher education policy at think tank, Education Reform Now, told New America.

Excising legacy preferences from college admissions won’t completely fix fairness in college admissions, Murphy said. But a ban presents no cost, financial or otherwise, to institutions.

“Admissions offices could be admitting students who are a lot more deserving in a lot of ways,” Murphy said.

Below, we summarize the six states considering efforts to ban legacy admissions, as well as one state that already axed such policies.

New America has also called for ending federal financial aid for colleges that employ legacy admissions, among other policy recommendations to support students and loan borrowers of color.

In March, Virginia became the second state to prohibit its public colleges from considering legacy status in admissions. The law, which takes effect July 1, also blocks public institutions from giving preference to applicants whose relatives are donors.

The bill garnered bipartisan support, passing both chambers unanimously. Its sponsor, Schuyler VanValkenburg, told The New York Times “he was pleasantly surprised” by the bipartisan backing. He also described legacy admissions as an “indefensible policy.”

Connecticut’s proposed prohibition on legacy admissions appears among the likeliest to pass in statehouses.

In March, it advanced in a 18-4 vote from the Senate’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. It would impose greater restrictions than Colorado’s and Virginia’s bans, also applying to the state’s private colleges.

Colleges public and private are railing against the bill, as they did when Connecticut lawmakers last floated a legacy admissions ban in 2022. Institutions including the University of Connecticut and Yale University have argued the bill erodes colleges’ independence.

The University of Connecticut doesn’t factor in legacy status, but Yale, like many other private colleges, does.

In fact, legacy admits comprise a significant chunk of Yale’s students — 14% of the class of 2025’s 1,789 first-year students.

Yale may fear a legacy admissions ban would deter donors. But research has indicated there’s no relationship between legacy preferences and alumni giving at top-ranked colleges.

Maryland’s bill would also block public and private colleges alike from considering legacy status.

The House passed the legislation last month in a 133-4 vote. The Senate has not yet moved it, but advocates say it has a decent chance of passing.

Local media reported that one state senator has expressed skepticism on a bill provision that would allow colleges to ask applicants about their alumni connections for data collection purposes. But this seems like a loophole for legacy preferences, Sen. Cheryl Kagan said.

California is once again attempting to bar private colleges from using legacy preferences. The state’s four-year public higher ed systems do not consider legacy status.

The bill sponsor, Assemblymember Phil Ting, last proposed a legacy admissions ban in 2019, in the wake of the Varsity Blues scandal. However, it did not win support, forcing him to water it down to pass.

Instead of banning legacy admissions, the law required private colleges to report to the state through this year whether they factor in legacy status and how many students they admit through such policies.

But California’s private institutions have erred in this reporting, weakening the law’s intent.

Ting’s new bill has not advanced out of committee.

A Massachusetts bill, which also has a good chance of passing, would restrict legacy admissions at public and private colleges. It cleared the legislature’s joint higher ed committee in February.

The legislation would extend to Harvard University, which has caught flack for its use of legacy preferences— legacy applicants to Harvard are nearly six times more likely to be admitted, according to recent research.

The Education Department last year began investigating whether Harvard’s legacy policies violate federal civil rights law.

New York’s bill that would end use of legacy admissions in public and private colleges has not made much progress since its introduction this legislative session. However, New York’s session runs through June, providing it ample time to pass.

Legislators have not publicly indicated their stance on the bill, however, last year the association of New York’s private colleges dropped its opposition to a previous version of the proposal.

Minnesota’s bill has not advanced since its introduction this session. It would apply to public and private colleges, though local press reported many Minnesota institutions already do not rely on legacy preferences.