op universities in California like Stanford and the University of Southern California will no longer be able to favor the relatives of alumni and school donors during the application process. That's after state governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning all private nonprofit colleges from giving preference to so-called "legacy" applicants and those with links to donors. Newsom said the law already applied to public universities in the state. The law will now apply to all universities from September 2025. The governor said: "In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work. The California Dream shouldn't be accessible to just a lucky few, which is why we're opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, fairly." California is the second US state to ban both public and private universities from favoring legacy applicants. Maryland was the first, earlier this year, although the state's top school — Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — had already ended the practice independently. Virginia, Illinois and Colorado have banned public universities from giving preferential treatment to those with links to former students or donors. Admissions to US universities are very competitive. And legacy admissions policies give an advantage to applicants whose — often wealthy, often white — family members previously attended the university, or who have donated money to the school. A 2022 study looked at one unnamed US university and found that, over a 16-year period, 34% of legacy applicants were accepted — compared to just 14% of non-legacy applicants. A group representing private colleges in California said it was "uncomfortable" with the state getting involved in the universities' admissions processes, but said the institutions would follow the new law.