The United States Justice Department has formally accused Yale University of unlawfully incorporating race as a factor in its medical school admissions process, marking the second such allegation against a higher education institution this month.
Justice Department Findings
In a letter addressed to Yale's legal representative, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon stated that a federal investigation revealed that Black and Hispanic applicants to the Yale School of Medicine enjoy significantly higher admission probabilities compared to white or Asian candidates, despite possessing lower grade-point averages and standardized test scores.
"Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform," Dhillon asserted 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's Response and Context
Officials at Yale and the attorney named in the DOJ letter, Peter Spivack, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, his administration has intensified pressure on universities to eliminate race-based admissions, which conservatives view as illegal discrimination. This follows a landmark 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that banned affirmative action in college admissions, specifically in cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
Last week, the Justice Department similarly notified the University of California, Los Angeles, that its medical school had unlawfully considered race in admissions.
Allegations of Title VI Violations
In the letter to Yale, Dhillon alleged that the New Haven, Connecticut, institution is violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance. The DOJ stated its intention to pursue a voluntary resolution agreement with the university, but also warned of its authority to initiate legal action to enforce Title VI if voluntary compliance cannot be achieved.
The Justice Department cited disparities in grade-point averages and standardized test scores as evidence of racial preferences in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. For example, in Yale's most recent class, Black students had a median GPA of 3.88 and a median MCAT score in the 95th percentile, whereas Asian students had a median GPA of 3.98 and white students a median GPA of 3.97. Both Asian and white students in that class 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 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 stated.
Holistic Admissions Under Scrutiny
The Justice Department also criticized Yale's holistic admissions process, describing it as a mechanism for the school to consider race. The letter referenced Yale's amicus brief in the Students for Fair Admissions lawsuit, which led to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. In that brief, Yale argued that it could not maintain diverse classes without explicit consideration of race. The department contended that Yale's ability to sustain similarly diverse classes after the ruling demonstrates ongoing race discrimination.
Dhillon wrote that the lack of any change in Yale's admissions outcomes following the Supreme Court decision indicated "a willful failure to comply with that decision."
Broader Legal and Political Context
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 demonstrating they are not considering race in admissions.
This report includes contributions from Associated Press writer Annie Ma in Washington.
