Discriminatory ‘shadow’ review process locks White, Asian students out of California med school, DOJ alleges

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House committee debates DEI impact on medical school standards

The House committee debates the influence of DEI policies on medical school admissions and patient care standards.Lawmakers question deans from major medical schools about allegations from the Justice Department that UCLA granted an illegal edge to Black and Hispanic applicants.

The Trump administration has accusedUC San Diego’s medical schoolof 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 and come as the Trump administration intensifies its effort to dismantlediversity, equity and inclusioninitiatives.

According to alettersent to the school by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K.Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, 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.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.

“Rather than rely on MCAT scores or GPA, San Diego Med’s shadow application process unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race,” Dhillon said in a statement.“San Diego Med’s blatant efforts to prioritize race are illegal, and we will end these practices.”

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Hillcrest Medical Center main entrance signage displayed on the building exterior.

The main entrance signage of Hillcrest Medical Center is seen in June 2024.(Kyle Dykes / UC San Diego Health)

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled inStudents for Fair Admissions v.Harvardthat it is unconstitutional for colleges and universities to consider applicants’ race during the admissions process, including any workarounds which would give any racial group a competitive advantage.

“The Court made clear that proxies for race also may not be used to discriminate, noting that ‘universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today,'” the letter stated.

The Justice Department’s findings echo allegations at the center of the Harvard affirmative action 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.

In the UC San Diego investigation, the department concluded that Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted at significantly higher rates than equally qualified White and Asian applicants, saying the disparities were too consistent to be explained by chance and that the university failed to provide evidence accounting for them.

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After the Supreme Court’s ruling, themedical school’s leadershipremained committed to ensuring that minorities, also known as an underrepresented minority in medicine, are bolstered in the admissions process by giving considerable weight to how they respond to a personal account of what hardships they’ve had to overcome.

The Justice Department alleges that UC San Diego’s admissions director, Brian Zeglen, devised a plan in June 2023, shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, to “bump up” dozens of applicants withlower MCAT scores and GPAsin an effort to enroll more underrepresented minority students while avoiding the appearance of using race in admissions.

Zeglen said minority applicants in the lowest tier, Group C, could be moved into Group B by giving greater weight to their personal essays.

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University of California San Diego sign and part of the campus.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus and medical school pictured in San Diego, California, on May 17, 2022.(Jason Doiy/iStock)

“[T]here are roughly 550 URM students that fall out of Group Band into Group C.Because of this, I would recommend that we purposely select some students from Group C,” Zeglen wrote, according to documents obtained by the Justice Department.

Zeglen proposed moving up to 62 applicants with lower MCAT scores and GPAs into the interview pool through what he called a “bump up Group C.” At this point, the admissions board would have access to the applicants’ race.

With Zeglen’s plan in place, Black applicants were admitted at a much higher rate than White applicants.In 2023, 6.18% of Black applicants were admitted compared with 2.45% of White applicants.In 2024, the admission rates were 5.25% and 2.1%, respectively, and in 2025 they were 5.14% and 1.96%.

The Justice Department found that admitted Black and Hispanic students consistently hadlower median MCAT scoresthan admitted White and Asian students in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.In 2023, Hispanic students had a median MCAT score in the 80th percentile and Black students in the 88th percentile, compared with the 95th percentile for White students and the 94th percentile for Asian students.

The Justice Department said it is seeking a voluntary agreement with UC San Diego to bring the medical school’s admissions policies into compliance with federal law.(iStock)

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“San Diego Med’ s internal documents, including communications among the admissions staff, confirm that San Diego Med intended to racially discriminate in favor of so-called underrepresented minorities, such as blacks and Hispanics,” the Justice Department stated.“As a result of these practices, more qualified white and Asian students were denied admission to San Diego Med on the basis of their race.”

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The Justice Department said it is seeking a voluntary agreement with UC San Diego to bring the medical school’s admissions policies into compliance with federal law.

UC Diego Med acknowledged the notice from the Justice Department and “welcomes” the opportunity to ensure its in compliance with federal law.

“UC San Diego School of Medicine is proud to produce some of the highest-performing physicians and researchers in the nation, with residency placement rates that consistently meet or exceed national averages,” a spokesperson said in a statement.“All applicants to the school’s Doctor of Medicine program must meet strict academic thresholds, a requirement that is and was applied uniformly to all applicants.”