The US Department of Justice on Thursday accused Yale University of illegally considering race in admissions to its medical school, marking the second institution to face discrimination allegations by the federal agency this month.
Investigation Findings
In a letter to Yale's lawyer, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, stated that a Justice Department investigation found Black and Hispanic students have a significantly higher chance of admission to the medical school than white or Asian students, despite having lower grade-point averages and 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 officials and the attorney named in the letter, Peter Spivack, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Broader Context
Since Donald Trump returned to office last year, his administration has been pressuring universities to stop using race as a basis for admission, which conservatives view as illegal discrimination. A 2023 US Supreme Court decision banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions in cases involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Last week, the Justice Department notified UCLA that its medical school illegally considered race in admissions.
Title VI Violation
In the letter to Yale, Dhillon alleged the New Haven, Connecticut, school was violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination. The Justice Department is seeking a voluntary resolution agreement with the university. Dhillon noted that the agency has the authority to take the school to court to enforce Title VI if compliance cannot be obtained voluntarily.
The Justice Department cited differences in grade-point averages and standardized test scores as evidence of racial preferences in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. In Yale's most recent class, Black students had a median GPA of 3.88 and a median MCAT score in the 95th percentile, compared with Asian students (median GPA 3.98) and white students (median GPA 3.97). Both Asian and white students had 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 having 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 stated.
Holistic Admissions Process
The Justice Department also described Yale's use of a holistic admissions process as a means for the school to consider race. The letter cited Yale's amicus brief in the Students for Fair Admissions lawsuit that led to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, in which the school said it would not be able to maintain diverse classes without explicit consideration of race. The department said the fact that Yale maintained similarly diverse classes despite that brief was evidence of race discrimination.
Dhillon wrote that the lack of change in Yale's admissions outcomes after the Supreme Court ruling showed "a willful failure to comply with that decision."
Legal Challenges
In March, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy requiring higher education institutions to collect data showing they are not considering race in admissions.
