A proposed bill in the California State Assembly calls for “equity and fairness” in the college admissions process. USC was the leading private university in California with the largest presence of admitted students with legacy and donor connections. 

Assembly Bill 1780 would prevent any participating postsecondary educational institution from admitting an applicant with preferential treatment based on the applicant’s connection to a donor or alumni of the institution.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

Private universities that continue to participate in leveraging applications for legacy students will be excluded from receiving Cal Grant funding.

USC recorded 1,740 admitted applicants with connections to alumni or donors in 2022, which represents 14.4% of the total admitted students of that year’s admissions cycle, according to USC’s first year student profile released in 2022. 

Assemblymember Philip Ting, who authored AB 1780, said legacy admissions allow students with connections or wealth to gain entry into colleges through a “side door,” undermining meritocracy and equality in the process in a public statement in February. 

“We’re told that opportunities are available to anyone who works hard and gets good grades,” Ting said. “But that’s simply not true.” 

Ting proposed an earlier version of the bill in 2019 following the “Varsity Blues” scandal, but it failed in large part because of objections from private colleges that said the absence of Cal Grant funding would negatively impact low-income students attending such expensive institutions. 

“Because I believe strongly in the value of diversity in higher education, I brought this legislation back in light of the SCOTUS ruling to level the college admissions playing field for our students,” Ting said in a public statement.

In 2021, almost 3,000 students received a combined $26.6 million for financial aid through Cal Grant programs. If the bill passes and USC continues to show admissions statistics that present a bias toward admits with legacy or donor ties, those financial aid opportunities may be at risk of revocation moving forward.

Allison Pickard, a senior majoring in business administration, receives financial aid through the Cal Grant program. She said USC should comply with the terms of the bill and reduce the number of legacy admits to avoid creating unfair financial situations for those who are not legacy students and depend on the aid.

“It would be a shame to have Cal Grant cut funding because USC still kept its high legacy admit numbers, and it would affect people like me who aren’t legacies who need financial aid,” Pickard said. 

Pickard believes that it would be difficult for the university to abide by the bill because of its continued emphasis on the Trojan Alumni Network.

USC has faced scrutiny in past years from scandals concerning unfair college admission treatment, including the 2019 “Varsity Blues” scandal, in which some USC Athletics coaches and administrators accepted bribes to help admit prospective students of wealthy families using falsified athletic statuses. 

In response, USC implemented a stricter application review process in 2022 to ensure there would be no loopholes or manipulation within the athletic admission system. Steps included a three-time application revision process, certification from a USC head coach and a new software program available for all USC sports faculty to monitor each prospective athlete.

In 2021, the University faced another scandal in which former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was accused of supporting county contracts in exchange for graduate school admission and a full-tuition scholarship for his son, among other benefits, in an alleged quid pro quo scheme with former Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Dean Marilyn Flynn. 

As of early last year, the councilmember has been proven guilty of seven felonies in relation to the alleged scheme — including bribery, conspiracy and fraud — though the jury acquitted him of charges directly related to a quid pro quo arrangement. The court sentenced him to three years and six months in prison, and a fine of over $30,000.

Gwen O’Beacain, a freshman majoring in business administration, said she feels USC has learned its lesson since the two scandals.

“They’ve straightened out a lot since then,” O’Beacain said. “I feel like now they did a good job of being more transparent about things.” 

The University told the Daily Trojan in a statement that it has not taken a stance on AB 1780. The University did not directly address the bill and its potential impact on admissions practices at USC. 

In the statement, the University wrote that its admissions, financial aid and recruitment processes are constantly evolving in order to accommodate a diverse student body and stay in compliance with new legal requirements.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the recipient of the scholarship and graduate student admission in an alleged quid pro quo scheme between former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas and former Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Dean Marilyn Flynn. The article also misstated the recipients of bribery money in the 2019 “Varsity Blues” scandal. The article was updated April 1 at 10:24 p.m. to reflect that Ridley-Thomas’ son received the scholarship and graduate school admission, and that Ridley-Thomas had not been directly found guilty of engaging in a quid pro quo scheme. The article was also updated to reflect that some members of USC Athletics administration and coaches took bribes in the Varsity Blues scandal. The Daily Trojan regrets these errors.