A Department of Justice investigation found a seventh medical school discriminated in its admission process based on race. It said that Ohio State University College of Medicine discriminated against white and Asian students in its 2023, 2024 and 2025 admissions.
The school uses a “holistic approach” to admit underrepresented minorities, according to an Oct. 21 department news release. This approach included screeners who score applicants across attributes, experiences and metrics. Prospective students then go through an interview stage.
The department found that Black applicants who were screened and interviewed were about 2.8 times as likely to be admitted compared to Asian applicants with equal credentials. The department also found the medical school operated a “side door,” which allowed some applicants to be admitted without receiving a screener score or sitting for an interview. In this pathway, Black applicants were four times more likely to be admitted than white applicants, and no Asian applicants were admitted.
An Ohio State spokesperson told ABC6 that “Ohio State is fully compliant with all state and federal regulations and legal rulings regarding admissions,” and that the university “will respond appropriately” to the department letter.
This is the seventh medical school to be investigated by the Justice Department and found to discriminate based on race in admissions. The department has investigated more than a dozen medical schools this year and, in May, began releasing reports about the schools it found to be discriminating.
Here are the seven medical schools the department has found used discriminatory admissions practices, listed by the date it released its findings:
- May 6: UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine (Los Angeles)
- May 14: Yale School of Medicine (New Haven, Conn.)
- June 10: UC Davis School of Medicine (Sacramento, Calif.)
- July 20: UC San Diego School of Medicine
- Aug. 27: George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (District of Columia)
- Sept. 22: UCSF School of Medicine (San Francisco)
- Oct. 21: Ohio State University College of Medicine (Columbus)
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