Justice Department Accuses UC San Diego School of Medicine of Using Hardship Questions to Favor Black and Hispanic Applicants

The Department of Justice sent a letter to the University of California San Diego School of Medicine on Monday alleging violation of federal law through racial discrimination in admissions. The letter states that the school used a “shadow application process” to favor Black and Hispanic applicants.

Admissions staff used answers to “hardship” questions to identify those applicants and gave them preferential treatment, the Justice Department said.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. ” She added that the process “unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race” rather than MCAT scores or GPA. The investigation found that better-qualified White and Asian applicants were denied admission in favor of lower-credentialed Black and Hispanic applicants.

Black and Hispanic students admitted to the school had lower grades and test scores than their White and Asian classmates, according to the Justice Department. Admission rates for Black applicants were more than double the admission rates for White applicants. The probe began in March and reviewed internal UC San Diego documents and admissions data from 2019 through 2025.

The Justice Department determined that the school created an evaluation process using “hardship” as a racial proxy to achieve its diversity agenda. ” The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 outlawed race-based discrimination in college admissions.

The Justice Department requires UC San Diego School of Medicine to reach a settlement changing its admissions practices or face a federal lawsuit. School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.