DOJ Takes Aim at UC San Diego Med School’s Use of Hardship in Admissions

Katherine Knott July 23, 2026 1 min read

DOJ Takes Aim at UC San Diego Med School’s Use of Hardship in Admissions

Katherine Knott
Inside Higher Ed

The University of California at San Diego’s medical school discriminated on the basis of race in admissions decisions over the course of three cycles, the Justice Department claimed this week. 

The agency has been investigating the medical school since March and detailed its findings in an eight-page letter to the university. According to DOJ officials, the university discriminated on the basis of race by allowing applicants to share how they overcame certain disadvantages. That hardship question, the government argued, served as a way for admissions administrators to determine which students came from an underrepresented minority group and then give them a boost.

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