DOJ reveals race-based admission policies still used at major medical school 

The U.S. Department of Justice is taking action against a major medical school for its racially discriminatory admissions standards.

Trump’s DOJ announced Thursday that George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (GW Med) was found to have “intentionally discriminated based on race in granting and denying admission to its 2024 and 2025 incoming classes.”

“GW Med’s admissions practices reveal an intent to prioritize racial diversity over merit, which is unlawful and poses legitimate public health consequences for the patients its future doctors will serve,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

“The law is simple – admissions officers can no longer discriminate based on race in the name of diversity.”

According to the DOJ’s investigation, African-American applicants were significantly more likely to be selected for an interview and received disproportionately higher interview scores than comparable Asian applicants.

The university also admitted African-American students with significantly lower MCAT scores than their white or Asian counterparts.

Such practices fly in the face of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, which found affirmative action violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Then, in August 2025, Trump signed an executive order to protect students’ civil rights.

“American students and taxpayers deserve confidence in the fairness and integrity of our Nation’s institutions of higher education, including confidence that they are recruiting and training capable future doctors, engineers, scientists, and other critical workers vital to the next generations of American prosperity,” the president wrote.

“Race-based admissions practices are not only unfair but also threaten our national security and well-being.”

However, the university is disputing the DOJ’s findings.

“We are disappointed by the DOJ’s conclusions, which we believe are incorrect,” said a GWU spokesperson. “Our School of Medicine and Health Sciences admissions process fully complies with the law. The university remains steadfastly committed to nondiscrimination and Title VI compliance while advancing our academic missions and excellence in preparing health care leaders.”

The DOJ concluded that if negotiations to bring the school’s admissions into compliance fail, the federal government will file a lawsuit.

GWU isn’t the only major medical school facing allegations of discrimination.

Last year, a complaint was filed against Johns Hopkins Medical School for using race as a factor in admissions, as well as hosting programs segregated by race, gender or sexuality.

UCLA’s medical school also faced accusations of racism from medical watchdog Do No Harm, which claimed black and Latino students were given unfair advantages over white and Asian students.

As of last summer, more than 70 medical schools were still promoting DEI in their admissions policies, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court and directives from the federal government.