California banned legacy and donor preferences at private nonprofit colleges starting September 1, 2025. The first compliance reports are due June 30, 2026 — this week. Schools like Stanford and USC must tell the California Legislature and the state Attorney General whether they gave anyone a legacy advantage during the 2025-26 admissions cycle. The fall 2026 incoming class is the first ever admitted at these schools without that preference being a legal option.

Three days from now, California's private universities will face a deadline that nobody was talking about when they applied to college. On June 30, 2026, every private nonprofit institution in the state must submit its first annual compliance report under AB 1780 — the law Governor Gavin Newsom signed on September 30, 2024 that bans legacy and donor preferences in admissions.1

For current high school juniors preparing to apply this fall, that report is worth paying attention to.

What AB 1780 Actually Requires

The law added Education Code §66018.4, which prohibits private nonprofit colleges in California from giving any applicant a preference based on whether a parent or grandparent attended the school, or based on donor status. The prohibition took effect September 1, 2025 — just before the 2025-26 application season opened.

The June 30 compliance report is the law's accountability mechanism. Each institution must tell the California Legislature and the California Department of Justice one of two things:

  • In compliance: "We did not give legacy or donor preferences during the past admissions cycle."
  • In violation: "We did give preferences, and here is the data."

Schools that report a violation must disclose, for every admitted student who received a preference: their legacy or donor status, race, geography, income bracket, and athletic status. They must also report the admission rate for students who received a preference compared to students who did not.2

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Which Schools Are Affected

The law covers private nonprofit colleges in California — not public universities, which already prohibited legacy admissions. The schools most directly affected include Stanford, the University of Southern California (USC), Pepperdine, Santa Clara University, Claremont McKenna College, and Harvey Mudd College. The private college association representing Stanford and USC said publicly that its member colleges will comply with the law.1

California's public universities — UC Berkeley, UCLA, and the rest of the UC system — have never used legacy preferences and are not subject to the reporting requirement.

The Enforcement Reality

Here is what the law does not include: financial penalties. A school that reports a violation faces reputational consequences — its name appears on a public list maintained by the California DOJ — but pays no fine and loses no federal or state funding. The enforcement model is transparency, not punishment.

That makes the accuracy of these first reports significant. If a school reports compliance but later data suggests otherwise, the legal exposure isn't from the original preference — it's from a false report to state officials.

If you're applying to a California private school this fall and a parent or grandparent attended, you can still mention family connection in your essays. The ban is on the school giving it weight in the decision — not on you sharing it. How individual applications are read inside the committee is something the compliance report data will start to reveal, cycle by cycle.

The 5-State Picture

California became the fifth state to ban legacy admissions preferences at private institutions. The other four are Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and Colorado. Together, they cover a significant share of the most selective private colleges in the country — including schools in the Chicago, Baltimore-Washington, and Denver metro areas, in addition to the California institutions.

For students applying to highly selective schools, this matters because legacy preference had historically functioned as an informal admissions category — one that what colleges look for in applicants guides rarely discussed directly. That is now changing at about one in four states.

The law applies to California's private nonprofits. If you're applying to private colleges in other states — including Ivy League schools in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire — legacy preferences may still be legal and may still be used. Before assuming a school's admissions policy has changed, check the state it's in and its own published policy.

What This Means for Fall 2026 Applicants

The fall 2026 incoming class — the students hearing from colleges last spring — was the first group admitted to California's private colleges under the full prohibition. No student in that class was legally able to receive a legacy boost at Stanford, USC, or other covered schools. That is a genuine shift in who gets in.

For students now preparing their college applications for fall 2027, the June 30 compliance reports will be public record. Combined with acceptance rate data, they will give a clearer picture than ever before of how much these schools' admitted classes are changing.

Students choosing between early decision and early action at California schools should also note: the law covers both the regular and early action processes. If you were counting on legacy status to give you an edge in the ED round at a California private, that calculation no longer applies.

What the Data Will Show — and What It Won't

The first compliance reports will confirm whether schools reported compliance or violation. What they will not show, at least initially, is the full picture of how admitted class demographics are shifting. That data will emerge over multiple cycles.

One thing admissions experts expect: schools that relied heavily on legacy admits may see their acceptance rates for non-legacy applicants change — slightly more spots going to the general pool. The magnitude of that shift at Stanford, which reported ~14% of its class had legacy ties in 2022, could be meaningful over time.

For first-generation college students applying to California schools, the changes are worth following closely. For guidance on building a competitive application on your own terms, see our college application tips and demonstrated interest guide.

Next Steps

  • If you're a high school junior in California: The compliance reports become public after June 30. Track them via the California DOJ website to understand how selective private schools are changing.
  • If you're applying to a California private school this fall: Legacy is off the table as an admissions factor. Focus on what the school can actually weigh: academics, essays, recommendations, and fit.
  • If you're applying to schools outside California: Check each school's individual policy. Legacy preferences remain legal in 45 states and are still used at many selective institutions.
  • If you have a legacy connection: You can still mention it in your application — the ban is on the school weighting it, not on you sharing it. But don't build your strategy around it.

The June 30 deadline is three days away. The data it produces will be the most transparent look at legacy admissions practices in California's private college sector — ever.

Footnotes

  1. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. (2024, September 30). California bans legacy and donor preferences in admissions at private, nonprofit universities. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/30/california-bans-legacy-and-donor-preferences-in-admissions-at-private-nonprofit-universities/ ↩ ↩2

  2. Steptoe LLP. (2024). California Becomes Fifth State to Ban Legacy Admissions. https://www.steptoe.com/en/news-publications/california-becomes-fifth-state-to-ban-legacy-admissions.html ↩