Stanford College will proceed contemplating legacy standing in admissions by means of fall 2026, opting out of state monetary support help for college students so as to adjust to California’s ban on preferential therapy for candidates with alumni or donor ties.
Whereas the college research a long-term coverage, it would preserve its present legacy apply, in accordance with a current public announcement. The choice locations Stanford on the middle of the legacy admissions debate because it confronts a $140 million finances shortfall, a whole bunch of layoffs, and heightened scrutiny of admissions after a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court docket ruling curbing the usage of race as an element.
Cal Grant is a state program that helps eligible college students pay for tuition and different academic bills. Legacy admissions consult with the apply of giving preferential therapy in faculty admissions to candidates who’ve members of the family who beforehand attended or donated to the identical establishment.
Hayward stated funding to interchange Cal Grant would come from “non-state university resources.” The change comes amid the layoff of 363 employees and college members throughout varied items introduced final month. Regardless of its wealth and affect, Stanford has signaled monetary pressure this yr, citing federal cuts to analysis and training funding.
The state’s ban applies to all schools and universities receiving state funding, although public universities in California already don’t admit college students primarily based on legacy or donor father or mother standing.
Previous to the regulation’s passage, Stanford had the second-highest variety of college students admitted with legacy or donor ties — 295 out of two,099 college students — behind the College of Southern California’s 1,791 out of 8,094, in accordance with knowledge from former Assemblymember Phil Ting, who authored the laws.
Schools should admit college students with alumni or donor ties, however can now not give them choice within the admissions course of. Backers of the ban stated the regulation addresses inequities after the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court docket determination – which exempted army academies.
Final week, U.S. Division of Training Secretary Linda McMahon directed the division’s training statistics division to begin gathering admissions knowledge from increased training establishments to make sure they don’t use race-based preferences of their admissions processes.
Stanford stated college students receiving Cal Grants don’t must take motion, as monetary support packages might be routinely adjusted.
The college says its monetary support program gives important help for low- and middle-income college students accepted to review on the college. Households incomes lower than $100,000 per yr pay nothing for tuition, room, and board. The college additionally covers the complete value of tuition for households with incomes underneath $150,000. Moreover, the college stories that about 20% of its first-year college students are the primary of their households to attend faculty.
Stanford at present has an endowment value about $37.6 billion.
In fiscal yr 2024, it disbursed $1.8 billion from its endowment to fund educational applications and pupil monetary support, Stanford reported. About 5% of the endowment is spent yearly, with roughly $456 million going towards monetary support and 23% supporting college salaries, libraries, pupil companies, athletics and analysis.
The college says greater than 75% of the endowment’s annual payout is restricted by donors for particular functions, comparable to supporting first-generation faculty college students or designated educational fields.
Apart from persevering with legacy admissions, Stanford can be reinstating its standardized testing requirement, ending a pandemic-era pause on requiring SAT or ACT scores for admission.
Initially Printed: August 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM PDT
