DOJ targets Yale med school over alleged race-linked admissions

DOJ accuses – The Justice Department says a federal investigation found Yale University’s medical school unlawfully considered race in admissions, citing differences in median GPAs and MCAT scores, a higher likelihood that Black applicants receive interviews, and Yale’s rel

When the Justice Department sent a letter to Yale University’s medical school, it escalated a legal pressure campaign aimed at how colleges and universities use race in admissions.

In a letter addressed to Yale attorney Harmeet Dhillon. the assistant attorney general for civil rights. Dhillon said the department found that Black and Hispanic students had a much higher chance of admission to Yale School of Medicine than white or Asian students.. The claim comes with the department’s contention that those differences persist even when Black and Hispanic applicants have lower grade-point averages and lower test scores.

“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform,” Dhillon said in a statement. “This Department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law.”

Yale responded that its School of Medicine is “confident in the rigorous admissions process we follow. ” and said it will review the Justice Department letter.. The school added that the students admitted to Yale School of Medicine “demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and personal commitment. ” and that its program of medical education encourages “curiosity and critical thinking. ” while graduates go on to become leaders in “clinical care. research. and public service.”

The department’s letter is framed around enforcement under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination.. The letter says the DOJ is seeking to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the university.. It also notes the agency has the authority to take the school to court to enforce Title VI if voluntary compliance cannot be achieved.

The department’s case rests on differences it says show racial preferences in Yale’s incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.. In Yale’s most recent class. the Justice Department wrote that Black students had a median GPA of 3.88 and a median MCAT score in the 95th percentile.. It contrasted that with Asian students’ median GPA of 3.98 and white students with a median GPA of 3.97.. For that same class, the department said both Asian and white students had median MCAT scores in the 100th percentile.

Dhillon’s letter said the government’s preliminary review found that Yale’s use of race resulted in a Black applicant being “as much as 29 times higher odds of getting an interview for admission than an equally strong Asian applicant with similar academic credentials.” The letter also described Yale’s holistic admissions process as a pathway for the school to consider race.

The government pointed to Yale’s prior position in litigation tied to affirmative action.. In the Student for Fair Admissions lawsuit that produced the 2023 Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action in college admissions. Yale’s amicus brief argued the school would not be able to maintain diverse classes without explicit consideration of race.. The department said Yale’s ability to maintain similarly diverse classes despite that brief is evidence of race discrimination.

Dhillon wrote that the lack of any change in Yale’s admissions outcomes after the Supreme Court ruling showed “a willful failure to comply with that decision.”

That posture lands in a broader push that the Trump administration has pursued since President Donald Trump returned to office last year. applying pressure on universities to stop using race as a basis for admission. which conservatives view as illegal discrimination.. The letter arrives after the Justice Department notified the University of California. Los Angeles. last week that its medical school illegally considered race in admissions.

The pattern laid out in the department’s filings is consistent: it cites post-2023 admissions outcomes, points to grade and test differences as evidence of preference, and then ties a stated shift in admissions policy to an alleged continued effect through interview odds and holistic review.

In March, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they aren’t considering race in admissions.

Justice Department Yale School of Medicine civil rights Title VI affirmative action medical school admissions race in admissions Supreme Court Harmeet Dhillon UCLA medical school