Justice Department Alleges Bias in Ohio State Medical Admissions

The U.S. Justice Department alleges that Ohio State University’s College of Medicine discriminated against White and Asian applicants in admissions for its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes, favoring Black and Hispanic applicants. Ohio State strongly disputes the findings and says it will contest them. The department said its investigation found the admissions practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars race or national-origin discrimination in federally funded programs. The allegations concern admissions decisions, not a court ruling. The supplied reports do not independently establish whether the practices violated federal law. In its letter to the university, the department cited reviewers it called “Super Screeners,” who could see applicants’ race and ethnicity. It alleged they helped favor Black and Hispanic applicants. The department also challenged the school’s holistic admissions approach, saying reviewers gave greater weight to personal attributes and experiences than to academic measures such as GPA and MCAT scores. The department cited 2025 figures indicating that Black applicants with similar academic credentials had 7.7 times the...