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DOJ Targets Yale Admissions
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday accused Yale School of Medicine of discriminating based on race in admissions after a year-long investigation into the university’s diversity-related admissions practices.
“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform”
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said, "Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform," and the DOJ said it was seeking a voluntary agreement with Yale to bring admissions into compliance with federal law.
The DOJ alleged that Yale’s documents show that its leadership "intentionally selected applicants based on their race," and it said admissions data showed “Black and Hispanic students have a much higher chance of admission to Yale than White or Asian students with the same test scores.”
Yale School of Medicine responded that it was "confident in the rigorous admissions process we follow" and said it would carefully review the DOJ’s letter, while The Hill reported the DOJ’s findings came in a six-page letter describing the use of “holistic metrics” including “race” and “national origin.”
Yale, Dhillon, and Proxies
The DOJ said it reviewed Yale documents and applicant-level admissions data and concluded that Yale "studied how to use racial proxies to circumvent the Supreme Court’s prohibition on using race to select students," framing the admissions process as a way to reach outcomes the Supreme Court had barred.
In The Guardian’s account of Dhillon’s statement, she said, "This department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law," while the DOJ also described disparities in grade-point averages and standardized test scores for incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The Hill reported that Karen Peart, Yale’s associate vice president for communications, said in a statement that "We will carefully review the Department of Justice’s letter," and that Yale School of Medicine was confident in the admissions process it follows.
WION similarly reported that the DOJ alleged Yale’s leadership intentionally selected applicants based on race, and it said the Justice Department’s findings referenced the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-based affirmative action policies in university admissions while allowing consideration of applicants’ personal experiences related to race.
Broader Crackdown and Next Steps
The DOJ’s Yale action was described as the second such discrimination allegation against an institution this month, and it followed a similar finding last week involving the University of California, Los Angeles, where the Trump administration alleged that Black and Hispanic applicants with lower qualifications were unfairly favored during admissions.
“said the DOJ is seeking to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the university”
The Independent reported that Dhillon’s letter alleged Yale was violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and said the DOJ is seeking to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the university, while it also noted the agency has authority to take the school to court if it cannot obtain compliance through voluntary means.
Inside Higher Ed said it was unclear what consequences the department will impose on Yale, but it added that the Trump administration appears to be targeting medical schools in particular and that the DOJ is investigating admissions practices at Stanford University, Ohio State University and the University of California, San Diego.
In parallel, WION described the move as part of President Donald Trump’s broader campaign against American universities, saying the administration has used federal funding and research spending as leverage to push changes in admissions policies, curriculum standards, and enrollment practices across the country.
