Yale Medical School Favors Black and Hispanic Students in Admissions, DOJ Investigation Alleges

After conducting a year-long investigation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed that Yale Medical School discriminated against applicants based on their race. The investigation concluded that Yale Medical School favored Black and Hispanic applicants over Asian and white applicants during the admission process.

The DOJ conducted the investigation to determine whether the admissions process at Yale Medical School complied with federal civil rights law.

According to the DOJ press release, Yale's documents showed that its leadership intentionally admitted applicants based on their race. The documents also revealed that officials studied how to use racial proxies to circumvent the Supreme Court’s prohibition on using race to select students.

However, Yale’s admission data demonstrated that Black and Hispanic students had a much higher chance of admission than white or Asian students with the same test scores. The investigation determined that the medical school continues to intentionally discriminate against candidates based on race, despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling rejecting race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions.

“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhilon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This Department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law,” he added.

The DOJ investigators examined median grade-point averages and standardized test scores, broken down by race. They concluded that Yale’s use of race resulted in Black applicants being 29 times more likely to receive an interview than an equally strong Asian applicant with similar academic credentials.

The DOJ press release stated that, in general, Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted with consistently lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts.

These findings support the DOJ’s conclusion that Yale intentionally discriminated against applicants during the admissions process based on race, which is a violation of federal law.

Medical schools across the nation use substantial federal financial assistance to train the next generation of doctors. The DOJ said it is continuing its efforts to eliminate illegal race-based practices in admissions at medical schools, where quality and excellence are critical to public safety.