Yale Medical School's Race-Based Admissions Violate Federal Anti-Discrimination Law
Source: Jay Greene and Ian Kingsbury. "DOJ: Yale Med Discriminates Against White, Asian Applicants." May 25, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The authors argue that Yale Medical School is breaking federal law by giving preference to black and Hispanic applicants over white and Asian applicants with the same test scores and grades. They say this is illegal discrimination that can't be justified even if all the students are highly qualified.
Conclusion
Yale Medical School is illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants by using race as a criterion in admissions decisions, which violates federal civil rights law regardless of all applicants' high qualifications.
Premises
- The Department of Justice found that black and Hispanic students were significantly more likely to be admitted than white and Asian students with identical MCAT scores and GPAs, with black applicants having up to 29 times higher odds of interviews than equally qualified Asian applicants
- Yale's admissions staff used a 'holistic metrics model' that explicitly listed 'race' and 'national origin' as criteria to consider, which is prohibited by the Students for Fair Admissions Supreme Court decision
- Yale's admissions demographics have remained unchanged after the Students for Fair Admissions ruling, despite Yale previously arguing that removing race consideration would change their diversity outcomes
- Federal law prohibits using race as a criterion in admissions decisions regardless of how high applicants' test scores are - there is no 'good enough' threshold that makes racial consideration permissible
- Assuming that race correlates with disadvantage or merit without individualized evidence constitutes reliance on racist stereotypes rather than legitimate holistic evaluation
Assumptions
- The Department of Justice's investigation and findings are accurate and legally sound
- Statistical disparities in admission rates by race, when controlling for academic credentials, constitute evidence of intentional discrimination
- The Students for Fair Admissions Supreme Court decision definitively prohibits any consideration of race in admissions
- Yale's pre-ruling statements about the necessity of race-conscious admissions can be used as evidence of current non-compliance
- Holistic admissions criteria are legally permissible only when they exclude race and racial proxies