Harmeet Dhillon Accuses Ohio Univ Of Bias Against Asian Applicants

WASHINGTON, DC-The US Justice Department has accused Ohio State University’s medical school of discriminating against Asian and white applicants, alleging that its admissions system favored Black candidates and allowed some applicants to bypass screening or interviews.

The department’s Civil Rights Division announced its findings on October 21, covering admissions to the university’s College of Medicine for the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. It said the practices violated federal civil rights law and the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based university admissions.

According to the investigation, Black applicants who underwent screening and interviews were about 2.8 times as likely to be admitted as Asian applicants with equal credentials.

The department also alleged that the medical school maintained a separate admissions pathway through which some candidates were admitted without receiving a screening score or attending an interview.

“A university’s admissions process, and all its stages, should apply equally to all applicants regardless of race,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“The use of a separate admissions process based on race is plainly illegal under federal law, and this Department will not allow these appalling practices to continue at OSU Med or any other federally funded higher ed institution.”

The department said the medical school used what it called a “Holistic Approach” to admit more applicants from underrepresented minority groups. Screeners assessed candidates across three categories: attributes, worth up to 12 points; experiences, worth up to 16 points; and metrics, worth up to eight points. The process also included interviews.(IANS)