The US Justice Department has accused Ohio State University’s medical school of discriminating against Asian and white applicants, saying its admissions system favoured Black candidates and allowed some applicants to bypass screening or interviews.
According to the investigation, Black applicants who underwent screening and interviews were about 2.8 times as likely to be admitted as Asian applicants with equal credentials.
The department also alleged that the medical school operated a separate admissions pathway through which some candidates received admission without a screening score or without sitting for an interview. Dhillon, who heads the department’s Civil Rights Division. The department’s Civil Rights Division announced findings on Wednesday (local time) covering admissions to the university’s College of Medicine for the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. It said the practices violated federal civil rights law and the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based university admissions.
“A university’s admissions process, and all its stages, should apply equally to all applicants regardless of race,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. The department said the medical school used what it called a “Holistic Approach” to admit more applicants from underrepresented minority groups.
