Justice Dept. finds UCLA medical school illegally used race in admissions

The Justice Department found Wednesday that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles, illegally considered race in admissions, as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students.

The finding escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment. UCLA’s medical school didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Affirmative action in college admissions has been illegal since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling forbade it. Trump is accusing colleges of using applicants’ personal statements and other proxies to consider race in admissions, which conservatives view as illegal discrimination. The Justice Department opened investigations in March into possible race-based discrimination in medical school admissions at Stanford, Ohio State and the University of California, San Diego.

The Trump administration previously has targeted undergraduate admissions at selective colleges, demanding they collect data to show they are complying with the Supreme Court ruling.

The Justice Department’s year-long investigation into UCLA found its medical school discriminated against white and Asian American students by favoring Black and Hispanic applicants.

As part of its evidence, the department cited data showing admitted students who were Black or Hispanic had lower average grade-point averages and test scores in 2023 and 2024. Among Black students admitted in 2024, the average GPA was 3.72, for example, compared with 3.84 for Asian Americans and 3.83 for white students.

The department says that’s evidence the medical school was using non-academic factors to achieve diversity goals.

“As a result of these practices, highly qualified White, Asian, and other students were denied admission on the basis of their race,” said Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department’s Civil Rights Division, in a letter of findings.

The finding sets the stage for a voluntary resolution to bring UCLA into compliance with the Justice Department’s legal interpretation or, if none can be reached, potential legal action. Penalties could include a loss of federal funding.

The Supreme Court ruling that banned the use of affirmative action in admissions said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays. Trump has raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race.

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 showing they aren’t considering race in admissions.

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