Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice came to the determination that both the Yale School of Medicine and the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine illegally considered race in their admissions processes and discriminated against White and Asian applicants. The DOJ has now come to the same conclusion about the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (San Diego Med).
According to the department’s latest claims, San Diego Med “manipulated applicant data to deliberately increase admission of” Black and Hispanic students. Specifically, the department raises concerns with the “hardship” questions included in the medical school’s application. This section allows students to address how they have overcome disadvantages; the department claims these questions are used by the school’s admissions staff to determine students’ race despite the school’s race-neutral subjective criteria. Thus, the department concludes that “White and Asian applicants were denied admission in favor of low-credentialed Black and Hispanic applicants.”
“Rather than rely on MCAT scores or GPA, San Diego Med’s shadow application process unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “San Diego Med’s blatant efforts to prioritize race are illegal, and we will end these practices.”
Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Education is launching new investigations into five more medical schools for alleged racial discrimination in admissions: the Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, New Hampshire; the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine in Greenville, North Carolina; the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri; Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California; and the William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
“Your race should not decide whether or not you can study medicine, yet many schools seem to be more focused on meeting racial quotas than selecting individuals who have earned entrance based on merit,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. “Schools that engage in such admissions policies are not only violating the law, but they are also undermining the fundamental principles of fairness and meritocracy that define our nation. The Trump administration is holding schools to account for their reported discriminatory behavior and will ensure a future where students are once again rewarded for their hard work and achievement, not prejudged by the color of their skin.”
The medical school at Dartmouth explains on its website that “we employ a holistic review process that places value on applicants who possess a strong academic foundation, diversity in all forms, a broad range of life experiences and traits known to promote success in the field of medicine.”
“This is not a finding of wrongdoing,” wrote Jana Barnello, a spokesperson for Dartmouth in a message to the student newspaper. “We remain confident in Geisel’s admissions process.”
