Federal officials on Thursday filed allegations against Yale University’s medical school, claiming the institution illegally factors race into its student admission decisions — marking the second medical school to face such accusations from federal authorities this month.
In correspondence sent to Yale’s legal counsel, assistant attorney general for civil rights Harmeet Dhillon stated that a federal investigation discovered Black and Hispanic applicants receive significantly better odds of acceptance to the medical program compared to white or Asian candidates, even when the latter groups present superior academic records and test performance.
“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform,” Dhillon stated. “This Department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law.”
University representatives and Peter Spivack, the attorney identified in the federal correspondence, did not respond to requests for comment.
Following President Donald Trump’s return to the presidency last year, his administration has intensified efforts to pressure colleges and universities to eliminate race-based admission practices, which conservative groups consider unlawful discrimination. A 2023 Supreme Court ruling prohibited affirmative action programs in higher education admissions, stemming from cases involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Federal authorities notified the University of California, Los Angeles last week that its medical school also violated laws by incorporating race into admission decisions.
In the correspondence to Yale, Dhillon claimed the New Haven, Connecticut institution violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination, and indicated federal officials seek to establish a voluntary compliance agreement with the university. The letter also mentioned the agency’s authority to pursue court action to enforce Title VI if voluntary cooperation cannot be achieved.
Federal investigators pointed to disparities in academic performance and standardized test results as proof of racial preferences in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. Among Yale’s most recent incoming class, Black students showed a median GPA of 3.88 and median MCAT scores in the 95th percentile, while Asian students achieved a median GPA of 3.98 and white students recorded a 3.97 median GPA. Both Asian and white students in that class earned 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.
Federal authorities also characterized Yale’s holistic admissions approach as a method for the institution to incorporate racial considerations.
The correspondence referenced Yale’s supporting brief in the Student for Fair Admissions case that resulted in the 2023 Supreme Court affirmative action decision, where the institution argued it could not sustain diverse student populations without explicitly considering race. Officials cited the university’s ability to maintain comparable diversity levels despite that brief as proof the school practiced racial discrimination.
Dhillon noted that Yale’s unchanged admission patterns following the Supreme Court decision demonstrated “a willful failure to comply with that decision.”
In March, a group of 17 Democratic state attorneys general challenged a Trump administration requirement mandating that higher education institutions gather data proving they do not factor race into admissions decisions.
