The Trump administration has accused UC San Diego's medical school of illegally discriminating against White and Asian applicants in favor of admitting less qualified Black and Hispanic students, putting nearly $1 billion in federal funding at risk.
The findings stem from a months-long Justice Department Civil Rights Division investigation launched in March. The investigation revealed that the admissions committee used applicants' responses to a "hardship" essay question to determine their racial and ethnic backgrounds, using the essays as a proxy for race in deciding who advanced in the admissions process.
According to documents obtained by the Justice Department, the admissions committee used a "shadow application process" that unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race. The investigation found that from 2019 to 2025, Black applicants to UC San Diego Med were admitted at more than twice the rate of White applicants, even though White applicants, on average, had higher MCAT scores and GPAs.
The Justice Department's findings echo allegations at the center of a recent Supreme Court case, where plaintiffs argued that Asian American applicants with stronger academic credentials were admitted at lower rates than similarly qualified applicants from other racial groups.
After the Supreme Court's ruling, the medical school's leadership remained committed to ensuring that minorities are bolstered in the admissions process. However, the Justice Department alleges that the admissions director devised a plan to "bump up" dozens of applicants with lower MCAT scores and GPAs in an effort to enroll more underrepresented minority students while avoiding the appearance of using race in admissions.
The Justice Department found that admitted Black and Hispanic students consistently had lower median MCAT scores than admitted White and Asian students in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. The findings suggest that more qualified White and Asian students were denied admission to San Diego Med on the basis of their race.
The Justice Department is seeking a voluntary agreement with UC San Diego to bring the medical school's admissions policies into compliance with federal law.
