As of July 29, Stanford University will continue considering legacy connections of students in their application process. School officials released a statement declaring that the institution would give up state funding in order to continue favoring legacy students and relatives of donors in their application process. The statement is in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Assembly Bill 1780, legislation intended to “protect students as they pursue their higher education” by removing state funding for schools practicing legacy admissions.
While Stanford has faced some backlash for their decision to ignore the bill with claims of it being unfair to those without prior connections to the campus, it remains beneficial for students whose parents attended, donated to or work at the university. According to the Palo Alto Daily Post, much of the funding Stanford will lose will be made up by the continuation of donations. The university’s decision to give up financial aid from the state is reflective of its determination to uphold its legacy practices and serves to build a generational network of alumni.
As of 2025, Stanford’s acceptance rate was 3.9%, meaning that they accept fewer than four students out of every 100 that apply on average. However, having the extra help of legacy status provides assistance to academically or athletically competent students who want a leg up. One
Gunn senior, who wishes to remain anonymous, has parents who have both worked at Stanford and appreciates the university’s choice to honor legacies.
“I think one of the main reasons I’m applying there is because of the legacy benefit,” they said. “It’s a nice perk to have if you’re working there. It’s nice to get a boost.”
However, these advantages are irrelevant to the larger applicant pool: In the fall of 2023, less than 14% of admitted students had ties to legacies or donors.
“(Stanford) can only take legacy so far,” the anonymous student said. “It shouldn’t
be an overwhelming advantage.”
However, by continuing to honor legacy connections, the variety of students admitted to Stanford could be impacted, according to 2025 Gunn graduate and Stanford freshman Nia Porter.
“I do think that making this decision to honor legacy in favor of getting more donations definitely restricts or doesn’t encourage economic mobility,” she said. “If you’re just encouraging the same generations, or the same families, to go to the school generation after generation, I don’t think that really promotes diversity.”
Applying to academically rigorous and competitive schools can be daunting, exacerbated by the fact that legacies have advantages throughout the application process. However, Gunn is in a special situation: While it has its fair share of legacy applicants, many of the dozens of students admitted to Stanford each year, according to Gunn matriculation data, are applying without a leg up and still receive an offer to one of the United States’ most prestigious universities. Last year, 24 students from Gunn were accepted to Stanford out of 119 that applied.
“There are just so many kids with legacy (or) with faculty (status), so I do understand how if you don’t have any of that, it can be kind of discouraging because you see all of those spots get filled up,” Porter said.“But Stanford admitted (around) 25 Gunn students last year, and that is so, so much more than the average school.”
