Justice Department alleges Yale medical school illegally factored race into admissions

The Justice Department on Thursday formally alleged that Yale University’s medical school has continued to weigh race in admissions decisions despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling barring the consideration of race in undergraduate admissions. In a letter to Yale’s legal counsel, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said a department investigation concluded that the school’s practices violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and represent “a willful failure to comply” with the high court’s decision.

Dhillon said the department wants to reach a voluntary resolution with the university but retains the authority to sue in federal court to enforce Title VI if an agreement cannot be reached.

“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.”

The DOJ’s letter cited admissions data for the classes entering in 2023, 2024, and 2025. In the most recent class, according to the department, Black students had a median GPA of 3.88 and a median MCAT score in the 95th percentile, while Asian students had a median GPA of 3.98 and white students a median GPA of 3.97 — both groups with median MCAT scores in the 100th percentile.

“Based on our preliminary review of the applicant-level data, 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,” Dhillon’s letter said.

The department also alleged that Yale’s holistic admissions process serves as a vehicle for considering race and pointed to the university’s own amicus brief in the Students for Fair Admissions case that led to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling. In that brief, Yale stated it could not maintain diverse classes without explicit consideration of race. The DOJ argued that the fact Yale has maintained similarly diverse classes since the ruling is evidence that the school continues to engage in race-conscious admissions.

Yale’s School of Medicine responded in a statement Thursday that it “is confident in the rigorous admissions process we follow” and would evaluate the department’s letter.

“The students admitted to Yale School of Medicine demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and personal commitment; its program of medical education encourages curiosity and critical thinking, and its graduates go on to become leaders in clinical care, research, and public service,” the university said.

The allegation is the second such action the Justice Department has brought against a medical school in as many weeks. On May 7, the department notified the University of California, Los Angeles, that its medical school had also illegally considered race in admissions. Both notices are part of a broader Trump administration campaign to pressure universities to abandon race-conscious admissions practices, which conservatives characterize as illegal discrimination.

In March, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general challenged a Trump administration policy in federal court, arguing that a new requirement for higher education institutions to collect data demonstrating they do not consider race in admissions exceeds the administration’s statutory authority.