Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1780 into law. This bill will stop private universities across the state from letting heritage students into their programs. A legacy is someone who goes to the same school as a cousin who has graduated or given money to the school.
Jack Kerobyan, a student at Santa Clara University, said, “It’s cool to have your family and past go to the same colleges.”
For some people, it makes sense to follow in their family’s ways, even when it comes to where they go to college. But on Monday, Gov. Newsom signed AB 1780, which will stop private universities across the state from letting heritage students in. For a legacy admission, the applicant’s ties to a donor or graduates are taken into account.
Saratoga College student Julia Burns said, “I understand because I’m not a legacy, but I also feel bad for the families that worked hard for an institution but don’t get anything in return.”
In a statement, Santa Clara University said that heritage alone is not a factor in its admissions process. Last year, the school reported 38 legacy admissions. Santa Clara says it has other programs, like the LEAD Scholars Program, in place to make its student group more diverse.
“I think being a part of the LEAD program here at Santa Clara is a good thing.” That’s why it’s only for first-generation kids. A Santa Clara University student named Mikayla Diaz said, “They give us a lot of programs because alumni give to the school and make it possible.”
California’s state schools already have rules that say people from the same family can’t get in. Still, after the Supreme Court threw out Affirmative Action in college admissions last year, there was a stronger push to get rid of heritage. Nat Smitobol, a college assistant for IvyWise, says that having the money to pay for college is still important, even if you don’t get into Ivy on your own.
“That “pay to play” option is still there in Legacy. In fact, that is still a very important part of getting in. “As long as we think of our colleges as business schools, it will always be that way,” IvyWise Counsellor Nat Smitobol said.
Smitobol says that he tells students to go to schools that they can afford and where they will feel most at ease. This may mean that they don’t apply to the most famous schools every time.
“I chose to come here on my own.” There were no family members who came here. I worked hard in high school. He said, “My sister went somewhere else.” Robert Holmer is a student at Santa Clara University.
AB 1780 will start to be used in September of next year. If schools don’t follow the rule, they will have to report who benefited from a legacy admission without giving out the student’s name.
