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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\u00a0scrutiny of colleges\u2019 processes\u00a0for selecting students.<\/p>\n
The finding escalates the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing\u00a0standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus\u2019s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment.<\/p>\n
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said in a written statement that its admission process is \u201cbased on merit\u201d and that it is committed to complying with state and federal laws. It said it is reviewing the Justice Department findings.<\/p>\n
Affirmative action in college admissions has been illegal since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling forbade it. The same ruling said colleges could continue to assess how applicants\u2019 backgrounds might speak to broader characteristics, but Trump has accused colleges of using applicants\u2019\u00a0personal statements\u00a0and other proxies to consider race in admissions, which conservatives view as illegal discrimination.<\/p>\n
In March, the Justice Department\u00a0opened investigations\u00a0into possible race-based discrimination in medical school admissions at Stanford, Ohio State and the University of California, San Diego. The Trump administration previously targeted undergraduate admissions at selective colleges, demanding they collect data to show they are complying with the Supreme Court ruling.<\/p>\n
A year-long investigation into UCLA by the Justice Department found its medical school discriminated against white and Asian American students by favoring Black and Hispanic applicants.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The department says that\u2019s evidence the medical school was using non-academic factors to achieve diversity goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result of these practices, highly qualified White, Asian, and other students were denied admission on the basis of their race,\u201d said Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department\u2019s Civil Rights Division, in a letter of findings.<\/p>\n
The department also took issue with an application document inviting students to volunteer whether they are part of a marginalized group and, if so, to discuss its impact. The question was included in the application process in 2024 and 2025, the department said.<\/p>\n
California voters ended affirmative action in college admissions in a 1997 ballot measure. In a brief filed in\u00a0the Supreme Court case, the UC system said the change led to a precipitous drop in underrepresented minorities, especially at the system\u2019s most selective campuses.<\/p>\n
The brief said UC went on to implement \u201cnumerous and wideranging race-neutral measures designed to increase diversity of all sorts, including racial diversity.\u201d Even so, the system said it had struggled to increase campus diversity.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration finding sets the stage for a voluntary resolution to bring UCLA into compliance with the Justice Department\u2019s legal interpretation or, if none can be reached, potential legal action. Penalties could include a loss of federal funding.<\/p>\n
In March, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a\u00a0Trump administration policy\u00a0that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they aren\u2019t considering race in admissions.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
The Associated Press\u2019 education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s\u00a0standards\u00a0for working with philanthropies, a\u00a0list\u00a0of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.<\/p>\n
#Highly #qualified #White #Asian #students #denied #admission #DOJ #accuses #UCLA #discrimination<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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